More Than Friends
by DelenaQueen
Summary: (AH)Damon a 7 year old boy gets separated from his best friend, Elena, when his mother decides that they have to move away from Mystic falls. After his mother's death(17 years later), Elena comes back into his life with information about his father's identity. When Damon and Elena start searching about his parent's past, a journey full of adventure, self acceptance and love begins.
1. No Good In Goodbye

**This is actually my very first real Delena story. I've only published an One Shot of Damon's death in the past. I hope it will work out and I will get to actually finish it without having problems(like running out of ideas). This chapter is just a taste of the story and I've already planned out a lot of the things that I actually want to see happening in the rest of the chapters...I'll do my best to keep the story good. Please be nice and review. It's important to me because it's like the first time I'm really writing and I want to hear your opinions. Thank you guys xxx**

* * *

The black haired woman took a sip of her coffe before her eyes focused on her friend again.

"Are you sure you're making the right decision?" Miranda asked and placed her long hair behind her ear, before her hand reached for the other woman's.

"I'm sure." Sarah didn't like the idea of moving either. She spent the last 8 years of her life in this little town called Mystic Falls. It was the place, where she and her son had found a home, with people who cared about them. This town however, hasn't always been a home to her. She could still remember her first days there. She was a complete stranger and she had to stand on her own feet, and be strong for her unborn child's shake. These memories, combined with other ones of her past, were still haunting her..._he_ was haunting her. Because _he_ was the reason she got in this town in the first place. Moving away from Mystic Falls was her only option in order to completely leave her past behind and start over. She and and her son deserved this after everything they've been through.

"I need to do this Miranda. I need to start fresh. This town is a reminder of why I got here. While I'm here, I keep on living in the past and this needs to stop, because my son needs a mother who's devoted to him. Not one that is afraid of her own shadow." Her gaze fell on the seven year old boy with the raven black hair. She took in the image of him entertaining Miranda's - 2 years younger - daughter, Elena.

"Does he even know?" Miranda had a concerned look on her face but it vanished when Sarah nodded at her and then looked back at her son. She knew that her son wasn't pleased at one bit to hear the news, and the reason was basically his friend. Miranda hated it too that Damon and Elena had to be separated like that. These two had grown up together. They had never spent a day without eachother's company. It was only natural that saying goodbye would be hard.

Damon noticed the way his mother was looking at him and he ran to her with a cure grin on his face that was reaching his ocean blue eyes.

"Hey baby. Are you having a good time?" She gave him a sweet smile.

"Yes." The boy said with a boyish voice. "But mommy...is it tonight that I have to say goodbye to Elena?" He pouted at her.

"Yes baby." She stroke his cheek gently and fixed his hair.

"But why can't she come with us? I promise that I will be with her all the time and I won't let anything happen to her." Sarah smiled at the inoscent way her son was thinking. She looked at Miranda who was smiling at Damon in the exact same way.

"Oh sweetie, Elena can't come with us. She needs to stay here with her mommy." Sarah explained with a voice like silk.

"Damon baby, come here" The boy rushed to go sit on Miranda's lap. "You will be visiting us any time you want." She said as she held her in her arms and placed a kiss on his hair. "I know you're not happy that you're leaving but think about all the new friends you're gonna make in Denver. Think of it as a new big adventure." The boy started thinking about it.

"And when we're settled there, we might also get a puppy. You always wanted one right?" Damon was smart though and he knew his mother was trying to get his mind off of the fact that he had to leave his friend behind.

"But I'm still gonna be missing Elena." He shot back at them.

"Sweetie we're gonna miss you too." But Damon decided that he didn't want to waste another minute of the time he had left with Elena, so he ran back to her.

"What's going on?" The tiny girl with the long brown hair asked.

"I want to tell you something. But I don't want you to be sad."

"I heard. You're leaving, aren't you?" The little girl sighed. "And I won't see you again?" They had the same sad look on their faces.

"That's not true. We will see eachother again..I promise." He pulled her into a tight hug and the girl put her little arms around her friend. When they pulled away she took his hand and placed something in it. Damon took a look at it and saw a little bracelet and chuckled when he realized it was a girly one.

"Why are you laughing? It's a gift Damon." The girl said a little annoyed with her friend's reaction.

"Thank you. I can't wear it because I'm a boy...but I can keep it in my pocket." He smiled and she did the same.

"Don't be silly. I didn't give it to you to wear it. I gave it to you because I don't want you to forget me."

"Don't worry. I will not." He promised her.

"Do you pinky swear?"

"I pinky swear." And they entangled their little fingers.

Their mothers watched them silently and they just started to realize how tough this was going to be on both kids. Damon and Elena were friends since the very first day Elena was born. When she grew up a little bit and Damon was already 4 he would spend hours with her trying to make her smile, instead of playing with Jeremy, Elena's older brother. The little girl had no idea what a Damon-less life - or even day - was, because they were always together.

After Sarah finished her coffee she helped her son put on his jacket. That was it. They were leaving Mystic Falls behind.

"Miranda thank you for everything you did for us. We will never forget you and your beautiful family." The two women pulled eachother into a tight hug. Never had Sarah realized, how much she had bonded with Miranda until that very moment, that they were saying goodbye.

"We won't forget you either. We're gonna miss you and Damon." The woman pulled back first and saw her friend hurrying to wipe away the tear that had just rolled down her cheek.

"Come on Damon. We've got to go." She looked down to her son. The boy took his mather's hand and they started walking away from the Gilbert house. Damon looked back to see his friend for one last time and they smiled to eachother saying a silent goodbye.

* * *

8 years later:

Miranda was looking at her friend in disbelief. She couldn't bring herself to get used to the fact that Sarah had cancer. But the worst part was that she didn't know what to say. She wasn't prepared for that. When her friend called her asking if she could visit, she was ecstatic that she would get to see her again. She got suspicious when she said that Damon wasn't coming with her, but she decided to not think too much about it. She didn't think for a second that Sarah had such a huge problem. And there she was sitting across her, still looking beautiful with her raven black hair and big blue eyes, but already tired because of her lack of health.

"You don't have to say anything." Sarah broke the silence. It was like she could read Miranda's mind. She knew that people didn't know what to say or do in situations like that and she didn't want her friend to struggle with this too. After all she didn't want to hear anything pittyful. "I didn't come here with no reason Miranda. I actually have to give you something and ask you a favor."

"Of course, anything!" Miranda said without a second thought and Sarah reached for her back and pulled a little white file out of it.

"Things aren't good. The doctors don't give me much time. I don't know for how long I will be surviving." She paused and looked more intensely at Miranda who was hanging by her every word. "But when I'm gone I don't want Damon to be all alone." She paused and tears started rolling down her cheecks. "He doesn't have anyone other than me. He's only 15 years old, he doesn't deserve this." Her voice broke. "I want to change everything."

"How Sarah? The only living family he has other than you is his father. And this man has no idea about Damon's existance." The woman was confused.

"I know. It's all my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have ran away all these years ago...things would be different now." She couldn't stop sobbing. She didn't care that she was dying. The only thing she cared about was her son and her heart was aching, for what was going to happen to him after her death.

"Hey." Miranda stood up and walked to the couch that Sarah was sitting in order to get closer to her. She put an arm around her shoulder and tried to calm her down. "Don't go hard on yourself. You did everything in your power to give Damon a good life. You're one hell of a mother Sarah."

"I don't know if I'm a good mother or not..all I know is that I did a horrible mistake and I'm here to fix it." She wiped away her tears. " I wrote this letter. It's the whole story of me and Guiseppe. I'm giving him every bit of information I have because I want him to have the choice to meet his father." She paused to look deep into Miranda's eyes. "Please promise me that you will find my son and give him this when I won't be here."

"Of course I will. I will also help him find his father if he decides he wants to meet him." Miranda gave her a kind smile.

"Thank you so much. " Tears appeared again in her eyes.

"Sarah..now you need to be strong and fight for your life the longest you can. And if you need anything I'll be by your side." Miranda promised her.

* * *

9 years later:

Elena pressed the doorbell with uncertainty. She didn't know how to feel that she'd get to see Damon after all these years. She remembered how close they were and how protective of her he was as a kid. One part of her wished that Damon and her would just still be the way they were back then, but she knew that wasn't possible. It had been 17 years. Everything changed and she didn't know what to expect from him, God, she didn't even know if he would remember her. But how could he ever forget? She asked herself.

She waited for a minute but no one opened the door, so she pressed the little button again.

"He's not inside." She heard someone saying. She turned around to see an old man who was taking his dog for a walk. "He's at the bar he's working." The man continued.

"Oh" Was the only thing Elena said at first. "Where can I find it?" She finally asked with a smile that was warming her brown eyes.

"It's across the town square my dear. It's called Midnight Rose."

The man gave Elena instructions on how to get to the square and after she thanked him she started walking towards her destination. When she finally saw the bar with the red neon sign saying "Midnight Rose" she smiled and walked in. The place wasn't big and it didn't seem special but it was providing her with a feeling of warmth. There were many free tables since it was too early in the night. She kept on looking around while enjoying the old time classic rock songs that were playing.

"Can I help you?" A voice whispered in her ear and made her jump a little before turning around to meet the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen. They were like two windows with a view in an ocean of blue and they were burning her chocolate brown ones. She took a step back in order to take a better look of the man's handsome face. God, he was gorgeous. Everything about his face was perfect, from the well shaped lips that were begging to be kissed, to the sexy jawline that was distracting her. His hair were raven black and she could only imagine how soft they would feel between her fingers. After she took in his whole image she was now 100% sure that the guy with the sexy smirk that was standing in front of her wasn't a stranger.

"Damon?" She asked breathlessly.

He wasn't sure how to react. He was desperately trying to remember her because she obviously knew him. Every time he got closer in recalling the memry of her, it was slipping away from him which made him realize what an old memory it was. The first thing he thought when he heard her calling his name was that she might be another one of the girls he met at the bar and had an one night stand with them. Lot of them were coming to him for a second round, but the girl standing in front of him didn't seem like one of those. After all if he had slept with her he was sure he wouldn't have forgotten about her, because she was a true beauty. Long brown hair curled at their endings, eyes full of fire and lips slightly parted wich were giving him all short of fantasies of what they could do to him.

"Do I know you?" Damon sure as hell had a lot of confidence. But while looking at her he felt like it disappeared. She was making him nervoys for some reason. He took a batter look at her. Without warning and before she could form any response, images of a younger version of him playing with a little girl with brown eyes, started playing before his eyes like an old movie. The moment he came back to earth and the oceans of blue locked with the warmth of the brown ones, he could finally see it.

"I'm Elena." She said confirming the connection that his mind had already made a second ago. She was examining his expression carefully, waiting to find a sign that would give away if he had recognized her, and when she finally thought she saw that sing she was ready to speak, but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry. You must have the wrong guy." He said coldly. Damon wasn't used to being rude with no reason, neither was he used to lying. But Elena was a huge part of his past. She was a reminder of the happiest years of his life. His mother wasn't sick back then. _He didn't want to look at the past_, especially when every bit of it was filled with memories of how good everything used to be. Because then, he would also remember how his life got crushed when he lost the person he loved the most. He would remember how lost and lonely he felt and it would make him vulnerable. _He didn't want_ to feel vulnerable, and Elena's sudden appearance was upsetting him. He had to avoid her. _He couldn't_ let her in and let her open the wound that he was desperately trying to heal for a very long time. _He wouldn't. _

"No...I'm sure I have the right one." Her words made him turn his back to her and start walking away, but she followed. She didn't believe for a second that he couldn't remember. Even if at first he wasn't able to tell who she was, she had seen the change in his expression when he gave her a better look.

"Do you want anything else?" He managed to sound as rude as possible in order to push her away and he climbed inside of the bar and pretended to be bussy but Elena could see right through him.

"Are you really gonna act like you don't remember me?" Her eyes were piercing his back that was now turned to her, while he was preparing some drinks.

"I don't know you." He said as a matter of factly.

"Okay. I see." She said and he thought that he actually convinced her, but then she continued. "I have all the time and patience in the world. I'm not giving up so easily." He should have known better. Elena was like that since she was a kid. _Stubborn as hell,_ he thought. He knew he was in trouble because he had just made this whole thing, her new challenge. But maybe he would win on this one. The only thing he had to do was ignore her.

"If you're done, you can leave. We have nothing else to say." He gave her a look that was warning her to not follow him again and he walked away from the bar. Elena felt the anger burning her on the inside and she suddenly had the desire to punch something. The only thing she did though, was sigh and walk out of the bar. She was gonna wait for him. She had come here for a reason and she wasn't leaving without giving him that letter. She had promised her mother that she could handle this and that's what she was about to do.

* * *

She was waiting outside of the bar for what felt like forever, until she finally saw the last group of people walking out of it. It was 3 a.m and she knew it was dangerous for her to be standing all alone in the middle of the street, in a place she had never been before and knew no one, but a certain person who wouldn't admit he knew her._ I'll soon change that,_ she thought.

* * *

Alaric was surprised to see the same figure he had seen 2 hours ago standing outside of the bar still there.

"That's creepy" He said as he continued cleaning the tables.

"What?" Rose asked confused.

"That girl." He paused and looked out of the window again. "She's been standing there all night. I've never seen her around before." Rose followed his gaze.

"That's the girl that was here earlier. Damon pretended he didn't know her. God, knows why."

"And what makes you think I know her?" Damon approached them with his usual smirk.

"Because if you really didn't know her, you would have_ tried_ to get to know her. She's your type." He was busted. Rose and Ric were the two people in this world that knew him better than anyone.

"She really is your type." Alaric agreed and shrugged.

"Oh really? And when did you two became such experts on my type in girls?" He was sarcastic. "I just don't wanna have anything to do with her. Is that enough for you two idiots to leave me alone?"

Rose and Alaric rolled their eyes and they decided to just drop it. After all they knew he would overreact if they'd push him.

* * *

Elena felt the excitement washing through her when she finally saw the lights of "Midnight Rose" going out and Damon walking out of it. She approached him quickly and ignored the annoyed expression on his face when he noticed her presence.

"Finally." She said.

"What do you want?" By the look on his face, he would do anything to get rid of her. "I made myself pretty clear earlier. I have no idea who you are!" He rolled his eyes when she didn't respond and he locked the door of the bar and started walking towards his house. Elena started following him.

"Why are you doing this?" She didn't know what else to say. She couldn't thing of any good reason...except..._what if he really doesn't remember? _

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just walking to my house. You're the one who's stalking me all day long! And it's starting to creep me out!" He wasn't anywhere near admitting that he knew who she was and she wasn't even sure anymore if he knew...so she decided to play the last ace she had in her sleeve.

"Alright. I will stop. I guess you're not Sarah's son so you're not the one who shall recieve her letter." Damon froze._ Bingo!_ She had played it well.

And when she thought that things would start going the way she wanted them to, he totally surprised her by grabbing her by her shoulders and pushing her against the wall of an old building. His blue eyes had darkened and they were piercing hers with a threatening look. Every inch of her back was in pain and she could still feel the strong hold of his hands that were not letting her move. Her whole body started shaking uncontrollably from fear.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" She yelled with every bit of strength she had left. She started hitting his strong chest to make him back off but with no success. His hold on her only got stronger and the anger was painted all over his face.

"Who do you think you are, huh? Playing with how I feel about my mother?" His teeth were clenched and his voice was so low and scared her to death.

"You left me no other choice." She said with a shaky voice. Damon tried to control himself and he backed off a little bit. She still felt like her heart was about to jump off her chest though. She wanted to get away from him as fast as humanly possible. When they both calmed down Damon covered his face with his hands. What had he done? It wasn't Elena's fault that his mother was dead. It wasn't her fault that he never got over it. And she sure as hell didn't deserve the way he treated her. He was drowning in guilt as he looked at her. She was still recovering from the shock and he hated the fact that _he_ was the one responsible for it.

"Are you alright?" He said in a worried tone and extended his hand to touch hers but she pulled away from him.

"Don't touch me!" She said with her teeth clenched. She quickly pulled a white file out of the pocket of her black leather jacket and she handed it to him, her eyes never meeting his. "It's a letter your mother wrote for you. She gave it to my mother in order to give it to you..you know..just in case." She waited for a response and when she got none she continued. "I should warn you though that it's not just a goodbye letter." He looked shattered and even after everything he's done, a part of her felt sorry for him and the pain he must had gone through. _Don't feel sorry for him Elena! He treated you like shit._ _He doesn't deserve your pitty,_ she tried to convince herself.

Damon was standing there feeling his entire existance hanging from the letter he had in his hands. The only thing that made him stop starring at the white file was Elena, who started walking away. He didn't want her to leave like that. He would do anything to make up for everything he did.

"Hey wait!" But she didn't stop walking. "Just wait!" He said again and this time she turned to look back at him.

"What?" She asked coldly.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Elena couldn't believe in her ears. He first treated her like she was nothing and then he suddenly cared about where she was spending the night.

"If that's your way of offering me a room in your house, the answer is _hell no_! I'd rather spend the night freezing in my car." He was lucky her eyes didn't have the abillity to throw bullets because he would have been dead. He let her walk away furiously and he watched her disappear in the darkness of the night. He had realy screwed up. Badly.

* * *

**So that was the first chapter. Please let me know if you liked it so that I know if I should continue the story or start something different. Let's call it a pilot chapter..to see how it goes. Also if you have any questions about the characters or the plot I'll be more than happy to answer to you. xxx**


	2. Upside Down

**So here's the 2nd chapter. The first one got one review saying that I should get a beta reader because there were several mistakes in it. Sorry about that..you're totally right I noticed these mistakes too but I had already published it by then. I've started searching for a beta but no one replied to me yet so for now the only thing I can do is double check the next chapters myself before publishing them. Thank you guys for reading this story though..it means a lot.**

* * *

She hadn't slept at all, the entire night. Not only because she never got to get warm enough to sleep - even after using every piece of clothing she had brought with her - but also because of the disappointment she felt after her meeting with her old friend. She knew that she wouldn't come back in his life and suddenly be friends with him again. But she expected him to be friendly enough to welcome her and have a polite conversation with her about all the years they've spent apart. Then she would have handed him his mother's letter and she would have even helped him to deal with everything, just like she had promised her mother she would do. But Damon was not even near being friendly with her, even though she couldn't understand why.

A knock on the window of her car pulled her out of her thoughts. When she turned her head her eyes met his baby blues. He had an apologetic expression on his face. Elena lowered her window without breaking the hold her eyes had on his. For a second she felt like she was looking at an angel. A very dangerous one, from what she could recall from last night.

"Morning sunshine." He gave her a charming smile. She hasn't seen him smilling since the minute she told him who she was. It was a nice change and she thought it was making him look even more beautiful than he already was. Elena though was far from over, of what he'd done, and she was nowhere near forgiving him.

"What do you want? She said trying to sound as cold as possible which made Damon chuckle.

"I brought you this." He was holding a cup of coffee and he was waiting for her to take it.

"Is it poisoned or something?" She said in a smartass tone while suspiciously looking at the cup, which made Damon roll his eyes.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." It was already too much for him to make such a move, but he decided that he _had_ to. "It's a peace offering." He said and didn't wait any longer for her to take it. He simply placed it in her hand.

"And what makes you think that a cup of coffee will fix everything?" She pushed her hand out of the window and let the coffee cup fall on the cold ground. The content of it was now all over Damon's black jeans. "Here goes your peace offering." She said and then a develish smile appeared on her face.

His shocked expression left his face quickly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in order to not say anything he would regret later. When he opened his eyes again he found Elena trying to find her car keys. That could only mean that she was trying to leave.

"Now that you got it out of your system..could we just talk?" He asked with a calm voice but she ignored him and kept on looking for her keys. When she finally found them he knew he didn't have much more time to convince her to stay. The window of the car was still open so he reached for her arm in order to make her look at him. When she did, he looked deep inside her eyes. "I. Am. Sorry." He emphasized every word, and that made her think that he actually meant it. He wasn't the kind of guy who would do apologies like that, but he knew he really owed her one even if she wouldn't forgive him in the end. "Look..I know I acted like a class A dick-"

"Please don't tell me you'll give an entire speech telling me what an ass you are. You said you wanted to talk. So start talking." It was the second time she had left him speechless. _That girl sure has fire_ he thought.

"Seriously? Like this?" His eyes ran in the space between them. "Lets go to the bar. I'm not working today."

"Fine." She said. She would have insisted for them to talk there and then but she really needed to stretch out a bit after the long night she had spent in her car.

* * *

"Come on, let me introduce you to my friends." They walked together slowly until they reached the bar were they found Alaric and Rose working. Damon took a glance of Elena who looked totally out of place. He chuckled. "Elena, I promise they don't bite." Elena rolled her eyes at his statement and she decided to take control and not wait for him to make the introductions.

"Hi. I'm Elena." She smiled to both Damon's friends. Rose was the first one to climb out of the bar and uproach Elena.

"The mistery girl?" She asked Damon and smirked, which made Elena blush. Rose was beautiful. She had big green eyes encircled by dark long eye-lashes. Her hair were cropped short and pointing in every direction. "It's nice to meet you Elena. I'm Rose." She shook Elena's hand.

"Great meeting you too." Elena forced a smile on her face.

"And this is my idiot best friend..Alaric." Damon pointed at the tall guy with the hazel hair.

"Call me Ric, 'Lena." He gave her a boyish smile.

"Sorry he was such an ass. He can't help it sometimes." Rose said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"That ass apologized to her and only got his jeans covered in coffee." Damon stated.

"You were asking for it." Elena finally found a way to enter the conversation.

"I already like that girl." Alaric said.

"Come on Elena. Let's go sit somewhere far from these two."

Then minutes later they were all settled, at a table next to the window that had a view on the beautiful town square.

"Did you open the letter?" He seemed to be in an extremely good mood compared to the previous day and she was wondering if he found anything in that letter that helped at the change of his mood.

"I didn't. And don't start asking about that. I don't want to talk about it." And just like that he shut her out.

"But why wouldn't you open it? Don't you wanna know the reason your mother wrote it?"

"My life just started to become stable again. I'm 100% sure that if I open that letter, everything's gonna change. And I like things the way they are now."

"You're scared?" Elena asked...but it wasn't a real question. She knew, she saw it..it was there.

"Will you just drop it? I said I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about less depressing stuff." He tried to regain his good mood. "Tell me about your life."

"I thought you said you didn't want to talk about depressing stuff." Elena said looking down at the cup of coffee that was in front of her.

"Oh come on, I bet you were popular in high school, had the perfect grades, dated the captain of the football team and every guy wanted you." He gave her a charming smile which made her heart skip a beat.

"That's most of the good part." She said nodding.

"And what's the bad part?" There was a pause. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He added.

"My father had a heart condition..until one day he had a heart attack and he wasn't strong enough to survive it. He died when I was 17." Her face remained calm but her voice was giving away how painful this had been for her.

"That's sure is depressing." He looked down. He now felt connected to her in a way that he could never find words to explain.

"Wow..you didn't say-"

"I din't say I'm sorry?" He finished her thought.

"Yeah." She was surprised. Everyone was always ready to say how sorry they were like it was their fault that her father was gone.

"Would it make you feel better about it?" He didn't wait for her reply. "Because it never really worked for me."

"Good point." She smiled and she meant it for the first time since she had met him.

"And what about your mother?...God, I loved that woman!" Damon said dramatically.

"Yeah that's because she used to give you extra pieces of cake. She thought you were very thin." He laughed at the memory of his childhood. Miranda was always like a mother to him and he loved her like she really was.

"So how is she?"

"Let's say that the tragedy in the Gilbert family didn't exactly start with my father's death." She looked around. She didn't want to focis on his eyes.

"Why? Is your mother..." He didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

No. She's alive. But a year before my father died..she had a car accident and it set her on a wheel chair for the rest of her life." She finally let her eyes meet him and she somehow found comfort there. She knew he couldn't know exactly how she felt - no one could - but it seemed like he was the only one who ever got so close in understanding.

"You Gilberts, really are tregedy magnets." They bitter-smiled to eachother. "But how did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past." She was glad when he just dropped it...she wasn't supposed to talk with him about that.

"Are you gonna eat that?" He pointed at a cookie that Alaric had brought her along with her coffee.

"You can have it if you answer to one question." She said with a challenging smile. "Afte all I've answered to all of yours. I think I deserve to know a little bit about you too."

"Fair." He said and claimed the cookie. "Shoot."

"Are you all alone in this world?" He laughed out loud which pissed her off. "What's so funny?" She said in an annoyed tone.

"It sounded like a line from a soap opera Elena." He chuckled.

"So are you gonna answer the question or not?"

"No."

"No what?"

"No. I'm not _all alone in this world._" He said mimicking her voice which made her roll her eyes even though she was holding back from letting go and laughing as well.

"So...is it a serious relationship or something?" She asked not wanting to sound like she was too interested in the subject.

"Yeah...I became monogamous after meeting Alaric." He tried to look serious in order to mess with her. _Success _he thought when he saw the 'what the fuck' kind of look that was etched on her face. "Relax..I'm kidding." He smirked. "What I mean is that I'm not alone. I have Alaric and Rose. They are like family to me." Elena gave him a sweet smile.

"Glad to know you're not alone."

* * *

The spent hours talking about all the random subjects that would cross their minds and reminiscing about their friendship. They weren't exactly friends again but they didn't feel far from it. They enjoyed eachother's company as much as they did when they were kids and the bond the shared 17 years earlier started comming on the surface.

Now it was late in the night and everyone except from a young couple had already left. Rose and Alaric had joined them on the table they were sitting.

"So you really are a womanizer." Elena chuckled and Damon looked down and ran his fingers in his messy raven black hair.

"You got that right. He's a complete manwhore." Rose stated and laughed when Damon smirked proudly.

"Yeah. The guy has sex on a regular basis and he's never even been in a relationship." Alaric lifted his hands in the air dramatically.

"How do you do that?" Elena asked amused.

"I've got secret talents." He said and wiggled his eye brows. Elena rolled her eyes but she knew that it was natural from women to be attracted to him. He had the face of perfection, eyes that were blue like the ocean and held the power of the strongest waves, body wellshaped and muscled like a Greek God's. She couldn't find something that didn't look attractive on him. Even his voice was invting her in.

"Alright I think I've had enough of the "Let's be cocky" talk with Damon." Elena said and drunk the martini that she had ordered earlier.

"Okay. Let's go then." Damon said and grabbed her black leather jacket to hand it to her as he stood up.

"It was great hanging out with you guys." Elena said and Rose smiled at her with such a warmth that made Elena feel like they were old friends.

"It was great meeting you Elena. I hope this won't be the last time we're seeing you."

"I don't think it is."

"Good." Rose surprised Elena by pulling her into a hug.

"It was great meeting you Elena. And don't hang out too much with that dick. He's a bad influence." Alaric chuckled and Elena looked at Damon and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." She said.

"Can we just go?" Damon shruged.

"Okay!Start walking..you big baby!" She rolled her eyes and they left the bar.

When they were out Elena started walking towards her car.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked in a 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' kind of tone.

"Getting to my car. I should be going Damon." She sighed.

"And you think that I'm gonna let you drive at this time while you're tired and drunk?" He was being prottective. He didn't know how not to. That's what he was good at when it came down to her.

"Damon I'll be fine. I didn't drink so much after all."

"I can't be sure about that. So you're not going anywhere." Damon stated.

"I can't kandle another night speeping in this car. I just want this trip to be over and go home...and have a serious meeting with my bed." He chuckled at the cute face she was making.

"Who said I'd let you stay in your car? Follow me." He grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her to the direction of his house.

"Where are we going?" She asked annoyed.

"To my house."

"But I never said yes to that."

"I don't care." He stated.

"Caveman." She said but smiled. She had found her old friend and it was warming her heart.

When they reached his house and they walked in Elena was surprised by the size of it. It wasn't big for a family, but for someone who was living all alone there was plenty of space. There was living room with two couched the one across the other and a kitchen with a big window with view on the little garden of flowers that he had by the side of his house. There were only two rooms. The one was his and the other one...well she could only guess it once was his mother because the door was closed and locked.

"You have a beautiful home." Elena said as the warm colours of it embraced her.

"Thanks." He smirked. "I have one hell of a taste."

"Will you stop being cocky and bring me a blanket?"

"What do you want with the blanket?" Damon asked confused.

"I can sleep on a couch, but I think that a blanket could help." Elena said and sat on one of the couches.

"You're not sleeping on the couch. You're gonna sleep in my room. The sheets are frsh and clean. I changed them this morning just in case." He smiled at her and Elena tried to control the way that made her feel.

"Are you sure?" She only asked that because she knew that if they would have fought about that he would have won.

"Just get you ass in the room." He sighed.

"Okay. Goodnight Damon. And thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem." He smirked and watched her walk into his room and shut the door behind her. It was the first time that a girl ever used his room for reason other than have sex with him. Especially when Damon was so attracted to a girl like he was to Elena. He couldn't stop thinking about the image of her beautiful face with those naturally rosen lips and the long brown hair that he wanted so badly to tangle his fingers in. All of these combined with her perfect body with the curves and the long and good shaped legs that models would kill for made him feel his jeans more tight suddenly. He pushed away these thoughts and pour himself a drink.

* * *

Elena woke up in the middle of the nigt and she realized she wasn't at her house. _Of course. I'm at Damon's house. _she thought. She was in need of a glass of water. That always helped her sleep when she had trouble doing so. She pushed away the red blanket that smelt like levanda and had have kept her warm till that got out of bed and opened the door of Damon's room. She was ready to step out but she saw Damon sitting on the couch, drinking and holding a piece of paper. At the coffe table next to him there was a white file which was ripped. _He opened it. _

* * *

** So that was the 2nd chapter. I still haven't found a beta but my best friend Kristy is gonna be helping me check the chapters, starting from the next one. So I hope you liked it. It would be nice to leave a review because well..reviews are important when you're a new writer. Also if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer to you. Thank you for reading guys xxx**


	3. The Sun Also Rises

** Sorry it took a little longer for this chapter to be finished...it's just that..I just finished my exams and the summer just begun so lot of my friends wanted to make plans with me and I just had to say yes because it's been so long since the last time that I had free time. By the way a beta reader replied to me..we'll talk a little more about the details but I think she will agree to help me. Anyway guys, read the 3rd chapter and tell me what you think :)**

* * *

Elena's eyes were aching because of her lack of sleep. She had spent the entire night worrying about Damon who had finished an entire bottle of bourbon all by himself while reading his mother's letter. She didn't know what to do though. Was she supposed to go there and try to make him talk to her about it instead of drinking to the point of passing out? Or was she supposed to just leave him alone and go back to sleep? After all they weren't exactly friends. In the end she decided that she wasn't brave enough to go there and ask him how he was feeling but she also couldn't convince herself to go back to sleep and pretend like she didn't care about him. That would be a lie. Even after all these years she still felt so familiar with having him in her life, even if they weren't the way they used to be.

When Elena decided that she was ready to face Damon and deal with his bad mood - because she was sure he would be in a bad mood - she took a deep a breath and opened the door of his bedroom. She was surprised when to find the couch,that she'd seen him the last time she checked on him, empty. However she heard noises coming from the kitchen that stopped her from panicing. She followed the sound and she found a smiling Damon preparing breakfast like he didn't have a care in the world. He hadn't noticed her presence so she kept on looking at him. He was wearing a dark blue shirt that was making his eyes look brighter. His black jeans were hugging his bottom half perfectly and they were matching with his black boots, giving him a bad boy look that fitted with his personality. Without realizing it a little smile crept across her face while looking at him.

"I know I look gorgeous, but quit starring and take a seat." His voice caught her off guard.

"I wasn't starring. I was just...surprised. I didn't know you can cook." She mentally slapped herself for the crappy excuse she came up with.

"Yeah..I'm full of surprises." She sat on one of the chairs that were around the white wooden table and he placed a plate full of pancakes in front of her. He sat in a chair across her and he gave her one of those rare charming smiles of his instead of his usual sexy smirk. She felt her heart skipping beats so she looked away. She was attracted to him and she knew she shouldn't be thinking about him like that. _It's not right _a tiny voice inside her head said.

"Thank for the puncakes. They look delicious." She smiled down at her plate.

"So what are you waiting for? Eat!"

"Oh my God. Damon I swear they are the best puncakes I've ever tasted." She said after she finished the first one.

"Did you know that women are attracted to men with cooking skills?" He asked in an amused tone.

"So what? Is that your secret or something? You bring them here, you prepair a nice dinner and then they want to sleep with you?" She teased him.

"Nah." He shrugged. "They sleep with me anyway. And I usually don't spend my time doing things for them..like dinner."

"I get it your a womanizer. But haven't you ever been in love?" Her eys locked with his and he was the one to look away this time.

"It was a long time ago...I don't remember much about it." _Oh, but he remembered everything. _

Elena noticed the change in his mood and she decided to stop talking and continue eating her food. Damon though didn't like the awkward silence in the room.

"So what are your plans now?" He didn't know what else to ask her.

"I'm gonna go home. My mom needs me and I'm not sure my brother can handle her on his own." She finished her meal and grabbed her plate and put it in the sink so naturally, like she had been moving in this space for years.

"How's Jeremy by the way?" Damon was glad to find another subject to talk about. "I still remember fighting with him because he wouldn't leave you alone." He chuckled.

"Yeah I remember that too. He was breaking my toys and you stood up for me." She smiled. "But we're not like that anymore..obviously. We get along just fine and I can finally say that it's a good thing to have an older brother to look out for you."

"Well..I have no idea about that. No brother...remember?" She felt bad because he wasn't just talking about the brother he never had...he was actually talking about family. He had none.

"It would fit you to have a little brother though...taking care of him and protecting him." He lowered his gaze and thought of all the times he wished he had a family..a big one, with people who loved him and cared about him. Elena kept on looking at him and something reminded her of the expression he had on his face the last night when she saw him reading the letter. "Damon, I saw you last night." She stated.

"Don't tell me you peeked on me while I was taking my shower." He said teasingly with a widesmirk on his face.

"NO! God, Damon can you be serious for once? I meant that I saw you reading that letter I gave you." She felt better now that he knew.

"Oh..that." He paused. "Well..I don't wanna talk about it."

"But don't you think you need to? I mean, consuming alcohol isn't gonna solve anything." She said in a high tone.

"Just drop it! Okay?" He felt the build up of his anger inside his chest. He didn't want to talk about his mother, especially after the previous night which reoppened lot of wounds that were still in the proccess of healing.

"Don't ask me to just drop it Damon! I'm trying to help!" Elena yelled.

"Why do you care? We aren't friends again all of a sudden." He yelled back.

"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want. I'm gonna grab my stuff and go back to Mystic Falls. So you don't have to worry about me bothering you ever again." He regreted every single word he said to her the moment he realized that he had pushed her away. She left the kitchen and went back in his bedroom and shut the door behind her. _Typical Damon_ he thought..he was disgusted with himself.

* * *

Half an hour later from their fight Elena heard a knock on the door. She knew it could only be him and she didn't give him permition to walk in. However, the door opened a minute later and Damon came in.

"I'm sorry okay?" She looked away from him and he continued. "You were right..I need to talk to someone."

"And why should I care? It's not like we're friends again all of a sudden." She repeated his words from earlier.

"Yeah...I didn't mean that."

"But you can't keep on doing this Damon! You can't just take out your anger on other people and apologize later, and expect everything to be fine again!" She yelled and he sighed.

"I know, Elena. I don't wanna be like that either...I just want to finally have my life back." He paused and looked in her eyes. She felt like he was looking inside her bare soul, his eyes were like magnets and they were making hers unable to look away. A minute ago she wanted to punch him, but she now knew how hurt he was just by the expression he had on his face.

"I hope you'll get everything you want then. But stop hiding from your own feelings...you need to feel them in order to get over them." She paused. "You said that you thought of what I said and that you wanted to talk."

"Yeah..but there's only one person that I want to talk to." He was afraid that she'd refuse to help him with the idea he had on his mind.

"And who's that?"

"Your mother." He stated. "I wanted to come and visit her in Mystic Falls if that's not a problem for you." His eyes were begging hers to just agree with him.

"I don't know if that's a good idea Damon."

"I will behave...I promise!" He said like a little kid who was trying to convince his mother to let him stay one more hour with a friend and play. Elena knew that she had every right to say no to him. But she wanted to help him and if letting him talk to her mother was the way she'd do it. But there was also another part of her which simply wasn't ready to say goddbye to him for the second time...because if she did, it would be forever.

"Okay fine! But no bad behavior, no lashing out, no snarky comments." She looked at him to make sure he was ready to follow all of her rules. "Also you're not gonna complain about the way I'm driving, you're not gonna complain about the music I listen to and you don't have the right to ask me to stop except if it's an emergency. Got it?" He couldn't believe that she was able to make him do whatever she wanted. She was the first woman to ever achieve that after his mother's death.

"Got it." He tried to be serious but he couldn't hide his amusement.

"Good. We're living in ten minutes." She said and simply walked out of the room with a develish smile on her face. She had just started to enjoy this.

* * *

"Seriously?" She said looking at Damon and the blond girl he was flirting with in disbelief.

"Oh there you are." Damon said with a smirk on his face. "Jessica this is my friend Elena. Even though I'd very much like to stay here and keep you company, I have to go with her or I'll have to walk all the way to Mystic Falls." Elena rolled her eyes and tried to avoid looking at the blond girl who now had a name.._Jessica, _said the voice inside her head. She opened the driver's door and got inside the car waiting for Damon to do the same. He had noticed her annoyance so he decided to say a quick goodbye to his new friend and return to the car.

"You're unbelievable." She said as she started the car.

"It's not my fault. Women just can't resist my good looks, my style, my charm-"

"Okay I got it." She cut him off.

"A guy named Tom called you while you were buying coffee." He said while looking out of the window but Elena's intense reaction got his attention. "Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?"

"It's..it's just...did you pick it up?" She finally asked and tried to keep her eyes on the road.

"No I didn't." He stated and a sigh of relief left her mouth. "Who is this Tom guy anyway?"

"He...he is my fiance." Elena was just hopping Damon wouldn't laugh in her face for being ready to settle down while she was still so young like most of her friends usually did.

"You're kidding me right?" Damon couldn't believe in his ears and while he shouldn't be having feelings about this, there was something there that made him be moody all of a sudden...was it jealousy? No it couldn't be. _Or could it?_ Whatever it was he decided to keep it hidden.

"No I'm not kidding. Tom and I were together for 3 years and last month he proposed and I said yes." She forced a smile on her face. Talking about Tom was kind of hard. They weren't exactly ina good place before she left Mystic Falls to go and find Damon.

"Well, why don't you call him back?"

"We had a fight."

"About what? May I ask.." She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Damon about it but she just wanted to finally get it our of her system.

"Tom is working for his father, big company and all." She sighed. "Yesterday their company had an anniversary of 20 years. Tom wanted me to be there but when he told me about it I had already promised my mother to come and look for you, so I said no...and well he was kind of disappointed. He should have said something earlier I guess." There was silence for a few minutes but then Damon broke it.

"And for how long do yout think he's gonna be mad at you?"

"He doesn't like fighting. I think that the things between us are gonna be fine when I get home." She smiled.

"If he doesn't like fighting you're unlucky as hell." Damon smirked and Elena looked at him in complete confusion.

"And why is that?"

"Aggressive make up sex isn't a option for you." He chuckled at his own joke.

"And what's the difference of that and normal sex?"

"I don't want to spoil anything. You'll know only when it will happen to you." _Well not any time soon then. _Elena thought and almost laughed at herself.

"Fine." She simply said.

"Elena...don't get me worng, but...I'm glad that you didn't go to the anniversary with Tom. I'm glad you're here." Their eyes locked and she gave him a sweet smile and he returned it. He meant every single word that he said even if her return in his life brought so much drama...it still was good, and he felt lucky to have her back. They held eachother's gaze for little bit too long and Elena haven't realized that her face was now a little closer to his than it was before and he was staring at her lips. She cleared her throat and pulled her face away.

"I might sound crazy, but...I'm glad that I'm here too. I kind of needed this trip. And well..it's been quite the adventure." She chuckled.

The hours in the car flew like minutes and they didn't realize how the time had passed. They were so lost in eachother's company. They were somehow giving eachother exactly what they needed. Elena felt free after such a long time. She was being herself with Damon and he seemed to appreciate every bit of her personality. Damon on the other hand felt accepted and he was trying to be at his best behaviour.

Little drops of water started falling from the cloudy sky on the window of the car and then the sound of a lighting echoed from nearby. Elena was laughing at a joke that Damon had said, but the second she heard it she jumped in her seat and an expression of fear appeared on her face. She needed to find a place for them to stay for the night, she needed to get out of that car. Her heart started beating faster and her hands were suddenly holding the steering wheel too tightly. Damon noticed the change of her mood.

"Are you okay?" He reached for her arm. Elena felt comfort by the touch of his hand, but it still wasn't enough.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to keep her voice steady. She didn't want Damon to know about all this...she didn't want him to know about her little problem. After all if he would find out about that, there were other truths that would come along with it. Truths that her mother had made her promise she wouldn't tell him. She almost smiled when she saw a motel on their way. When they reached it she stopped the car without warning.

"Why are we stopping?" Damon asked in confusion. He knew that something was wrong with her but he couldn't tell what.

"I'm kind of tired Damon. Let's stay here for the night." She tried to sound convincing.

"If you're tired just let me drive."

"No. Damon I don't feel very well okay? I think I need to take a shower and then sleep...properly..on a bed." She gave him the best puppy look she had.

"Elena I don't even have money for a motel with me."

"We're gonna take a room with two beds. Simple. You can return the money whenever you can." Elena didn't even care about the money at this point. The only thing she cared about was to get the hell away from that car. Damon could see that she was about to faint so he simply nodded and got out of the car. Instead of just walking at the entrance of the motel, he run to open her door and make sure she was able to stand on her own.

They got inside the motel and there they found an old lady behind the reception desk.

"Hello. How can I help you?" The old woman stood up from her chair.

"We need a room with two beds please." Elena was already feeling a little better.

"I'm afraid they're all taken. We only have one with a double bed left." The woman waited for Damon and Elena to decide whether they'd take it or not.

"Well...I didn't see that coming." Elena chuckled awkwardly.

"It's your choice. I can still drive." Damon offered.

"No. We're taking it." The old woman smiled and handed them the key to their room.

They took the stairs instead of the elevator and the were in their room in no time. Elena didn't waste any time. She took off her jacket and her shoes and she walked inside the bathroom and shut the door closed. Damon kept on staring at the closed door for one more minute. He wasn't sure of what was going on. He only knew that there was something wrong with her. He sighed and took off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He walked towards the bed and just layed there hearing the sound of the rain from outside.

The sound of a door opening brought him back to consciousness. He had fallen asleep without realizing it. When his eyes opened his mouth almost fell on the floor. Elena was standing in front of him with nothing but a towel on. Her long brown hair were wet and little drops were falling from them to the rest of her body. His eyes moved to her breasts which were showing a little bit too much thanks to the small size of the towel. Her long legs were also too exposed and Damon could now imagine them being locked around his waist. He felt the lower part of his body coming alive and he was relieved that he was still wearing his jeans. How was he supposed to spend the entire night sleeping next to her without thinking about the things he wanted to do to her? _She is engaged, remember? _He reminded it to himself. _  
_

"I'm sorry." She said awkwardly. "I forgot to take my clothes with me."

"I guess I got lucky." He said with a husky voice and his 1.000.000 dollar smirk appeared on his face. Elena blushed. Damon stood up and took his shirt completely off.

"What are you doing?" She wasn't prepared for that. His body was just the way she had imagined, strong and full of muscles...and his abs.._God, _they were like they were photoshopped.

"I need to take a shower too." He said and approached the bathroom door. "You dress up here." And with that he cloed the door behind him.

He took off his pants and boxers and stepped in the shower. He let the cold water fall on his body hopping that it would help with his hard on. He stayed under the cold streaming for a few minutes but every time he blinked the image of Elena wearing only a towel was coming back in his mind. He had no choice, so he simply grasped his manhood and started working to relieve himself from his arousal. He couldn't believe he was acting like a horny teenager. What was wrong with him? When he finished he washed his body with a bar of soap that he found in there.

Ten minutes later he opened the bathroom door. Elena was on the bed with her eyes closed but she wasn't sleeping. She opened her eyes and she saw him walking towards the little suitcase he had brought with him and grabbing a pair of clrear boxers out from it. His towel was hanging low on his waist and she thought that she had never seen anything sexier than that. _What the hell, Elena? _Her mind screamed but she couldn't look away. Damon walked back inside the bathroom and he came out a minute later only wearing his new pair of black boxers. She opened her eyes when she felt weight at the other side of the bed.

"Faker." He chuckled.

"Shut up." She said and smiled with her eyes closed.

"Are you gonna tell me why we're here?" Damon asked still wondering why Elena had reacted like that earlier.

"Go to sleep Damon." She said without opening her eyes.

"Alright, fine." He said and closed his eyes, but a minute later he opened them again. "Are you at least feeling better?" He sighed.

"mmhmm" She said and nooded.

"Good. That's all that matters." He smiled as he took in the beautiful image of her sleeping. She looked so inoscent. Without realizing it he reached for her cheeck and stroked it, gaining a little smile from her.

"Goodnight Elena." He said and he finally surrendered into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Sorry for the mistakes that you will probably find in this chapter. I didn't have the time to double check it before publishing it, but I hope it's not too bad. By the way thank you all for your nice reviews from the previous chapters. Please keep them coming because it's nice to hear your thoughts on the story. This chapter had a little cliffchanger because we found out that Elena is engaged which will bring some angst to the story...but don't worry I'm sure Damon and Elena will get where they need to go. ;) Also what happened to Elena in that car will not be explained soon, but it's an important detail in the story and it has to do with something she's keeping from Damon and trust me she has her reasons(we'll find out about those reasons in later chapters though). Next chapter is gonna be about them arriving to Mystic Falls, so we'll meet the rest of the Gilbert family. Someone asked me if we'll see Damon/Miranda bonding...and yes there are many interesting stuff that will happen between them and their relationship is very promising, so I'd love to see them bonding too. So that was it! Thank you for reading guys! xxx**


	4. Modern Myth

**So here's the 4rth chapter. It's been the most challenging so far even though it didn't take too long to write. I hope** you** guys like it. Enjoy! Xxxx**

* * *

Damon smiled when he realized that Elena was using his chest as a pillow. She was so cute and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her. His little laugh made his chest vibrate and Elena slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. At first she didn't react. She just took in the beauty of his. He looked like an angel while smiling like that. On second thought..._what the hell was she doing on top of him?_ She pulled away quickly and got to her own side of the bed, which made Damon laugh.

"Morning sunshine." He said with a lazy smirk on his face that made him look like a sex God. He wasn't wearing anything on top and Elena tried to keep herself from admiring his naked chest and his abs because she would end up drooling over him.

"How did I end up-"

"It seems to me that even unconscious you simply can't resist me." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You wish." She said, being obviously annoyed.

"Well every time you heard a lightning you crawled closer and closer to me, until you ended up using my body as your personal pillow." Damon chuckled. "So is that it? You're afraid of lightnings? That's why you freaked out?" Elena gave him a fake chuckle.

"You got me." She lied. Her words came out of her mouth breathlessly. She was relieved that he was far away from the truth.

"It's okay to have a phobia. Most people do." He said as he stood up and grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"And what is your phobia?" She asked him with a challenging smile on her face.

"I'm not afraid of anything." He didn't really know if that was true, but sharing his fears wasn't ever easy for him.

"That can't be true..but whatever you say." She thought it wasn't a good idea to push him. He ignored her comment and walked inside the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out with his teeth brushed, his hair in a place and his smirk still on his face.

"You dress up, I'm gonna go wait in the car." He said and left the room after her little nod.

It didn't take her long to be ready and look perfect. For some reason she was very careful with her appearance that day. When she was about to leave the room she heard phone ringing. It was Caroline.

"Elena where are you? Are you ok? God, I was worried!" The girl yelled from the other side of the phone.

"I'm fine Care, relax. I was-"

"You were supposed to come back yesterday and you didn't show up or called, and then we called you and your phone was turned off." Her mobile was off because her battery had died the previous day while she was driving back to Mystic Falls. "Elena Tom is going crazy here. He called you 12 times last night." Elena closed her eyes and sighed.

"But as you see I'm fine. I just forgot to charge my phone." She paused. "Look...tell Tom I'm fine and that we'll talk when I get home. I got to go. Damon is waiting in the car." She mentally slapped herself for saying that. Now Caroline would want an explanation for all of this.

"Wait, I know you went there to find him and all but you never mentioned he would come back here with you. Also, what do you mean by saying he's waiting at the car? Where are you?"

"Damon wanted to come and visit my mom. We stayed in a motel last-"

"A motel?" The other girl yelled.

"Yes Caroline. It started raining and we were in the car..and I just couldn't. I couldn't keep on driving." She sighed.

"Oh my God. Are you alright now?" She was concerned about her friend because she knew how difficult this must have been for her.

"Yeah. I'm fine, don't worry. Listen, I really got to go. I'll be home tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." She hang up and hurried out of the room and downstairs at the reception desk where she found the woman from last night and checked out of the motel.

"It was about time." Damon said when she stepped inside the car.

"I'm sorry. Caroline called, you remember her right?" She asked him as she started the car. The weather was good that day so she wouldn't have any problems.

"You mean that little annoying blond thing that used to dress up like a princess and come over your house?" He shrugged.

"Yep, that's her." Elena chuckled at the memory of Caroline wearing her tiara and pretending to be the ruler of everything.

"She's hard to forget."

"She's changed a lot you know. You're gonna like her." Elena smiled.

"We all have." He then decided to change the subject. "So how long will it take us to get there?"

"Well we're gonna have some stops but if everything goes as planned we'll be there early in the night."

* * *

Damon recognized the town square. Everything was exactly how he remembered them to be. About five minutes later they were parked outside of the Gilbert house. He stepped out of the driver's seat and he took in the image of the house. Nothing had changed. Images of a younger version of him running around and playing passes before his eyes. He smiled to himself. Even after all these years this place felt like home for him.

"I wish I knew what's in your mind right now." Elena said as she walked next to him and took a look of the house too.

"Memories mostly." He looked down at her and he smiled.

"Come on. Let's get inside." Damon followed her and carried both of their bags to the porch. Elena opened the door and they walked in the house.

"Elena? Is that you?" Damon knew that voice. He used to hear it every single day 17 years ago. The voice was coming from the living room.

"Wait here. She doesn't know you're coming." She left Damon in the hallway and she went to see her mother.

Damon stayed there looking around remembering the best years of his life. He could hear every single word they were saying in the other room though.

"Hey mom." Elena said.

"Hi baby. Everyone was worried about you. Why didn't you call?" He heard Miranda's voice saying.

"There were some complications on that trip. But well, I'm here now." Damon smiled because he knew what she meant by "complications" but he was glad that she didn't get into details about how he acted like an ass to her.

"Did you find Damon? Is he okay? Did you give him the letter?" Damon kept himself from chuckling.

"Yeah. I found him and he's fine." Elena's voice said.

"I wish I could see him too." He heard Miranda sighing. "Oh well..what happened with the letter?"

"You can ask him yourself." He could almost see Elena smiling while saying that.

Damon knew this was a hint for him to walk in, so he did. He felt his heart beating faster with every step he took towards that living room. When he reached it he just stood there looking at the woman with the long black hair and the brown eyes that were now full of tears. He never knew how much he had missed her until that moment. He walked towards her and just then he realized that she was sitting on a wheel chair. That was like a punch in the stomach. He remembered her being full of life and playing with them all the time. He thought of how unfair this was for a woman like her. He lowered his body towards her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh my goodness. I can't believe you're here." Miranda said as Damon locked his arms around her as well.

"I'm here." He whispered. She was everything he had left that was coming so close to a mother figure and he felt so vulnerable. She pulled away first and took a good look of him.

"You're all grown up! I can't believe it. Look at how handsome you are." He chuckled at her comment.

"You look great too." He smiled. "Just like I remember you."

"I'm doing whatever I can." She laughed. "Come on sit down and tell me what brings you here." He followed her orders and he sat on the couch next to her wheel chair.

"I'm gonna go, so that you two can talk. I also have to call Tom." Elena said.

"Oh yes I forgot about him. He called last night. He was upset that you didn't return any of his calls. But I assured him you're fine. After all I figured that you would want to spend a little more time with your old friend and I just knew you were alright and that I didn't have to worry." Miranda gave a sweet smile to both Damon and Elena.

"Yeah..well that's not exactly the story. But thanks for calming him down." Elena sighed. "So I'm gonna go call him now." And with that she left the room.

"So, tell me everything about your life." Miranda's voice was full of excitement.

"I live in a little house in Denver. I work at a bar called 'Midnight Rose'. My best friend Alarix owns it. He's like a brother to me. And we also work with another friend, Rose. That's how the bar took its name." He smiled.

"Is she a friend or something more?" He chuckled at this.

"Rose is like a sister to me. Me, Alarix and her are like family. I guess it's because all three of us are all alone. So we just have eachother." The woman gave him a weak smile.

"It's nice to hear you have such great friends." She paused. "But I want you to know that from now on you will have us too." She reached and held his hand in hers.

"Thank you Mrs. Gilbert." He couldn't express all the happiness he was feeling at that moment, he just held her hand tighter in his and gave her a warm smile.

"Please call me Miranda." She corrected him.

"Got it." He winked at her and made her chuckled.

"So tell me...did you read the letter?" Miranda's voice was more serious.

* * *

2 days earlier(Damon's POV):

I saw the light of the bedroom being turned off and I sighed and collapsed on the couch. I was so tired. I haven't slept the previous night. Her coming here made everything complicated. And this letter? What did my mother want to tell me? What could possibly be so important that I had to know, even after she was dead. And why didn't she tell me herself? These questions made me want to open that letter and at the same time they scared the help out of me. But I wouldn't let them keep me awake for the rest of my life. I had to open it. I grabbed the letter from the coffee table in front of me and brought it closer to my face. Before I could blink I had ripped the file and opened the white piece of paper and started reading.

_Dear Son, _

_ The fact that you're reading this, means I'm gone. I can only hope I didn't leave you too soon. I promised that I would fight and live even longer than the doctors said I could. In case I didn't succeed on doing that, I'm so sorry Damon. I just want you to always know that no matter what happened, I love you my boy, as I always have and always will. I'm so proud of you and having you for a son has been the epitome of a fulfilled life._

_ The reason I wrote this letter is because after all these years you deserve to know the truth. I know you always respected my choice of not telling you who your father was, but I think it's the time for you to find out. You need to know though that I'm not giving you this information because I think he deserves you, but because I know that no matter what the mistakes of the past, you two can maybe be a family some day. I don't want you to be alone son. So even if some things of the story that you're about to read don't make sense to you, try to understand._

_ Everything started when I met your father in the summer of 1989. We were both 19 years old, so young. We fell for eachother instantly. However, his parents would never approve of me. My father was just a worker at their garden which made them automatically dislike me. You see, they wanted their son to marry a woman from their circles and I wasn't one of those. Me and your father tried to stay away from eachother but it was impossible because we were crazy about eachother. In the end we decided to start seeing eachother in secret. This situation lasted for 3 months. After that I got pregnant. I showed up to your father's house and I asked to see him. They let me in and then I found him and told him the news. He was so scared of how his mother would react but he was happy for us, so he promised he would talk to his parents about it._

_ The same evening he invited me and my family for dinner and said everything about our relationship to his mother and father. Their reaction wasn't what we expected, which gave us false hopes. My parents on the other hand, just wanted me to be happy. The following day your father told me that his father was sending him out of town for a couple of days to take care of some business. He asked me to stay at his house so that he was sure that while he was away I was provided with everything I needed. That was the last time I saw him. The same evening his mother came to talk to me. She said that she wanted me out of her son's life. I told her that this wasn't going to happen and that I wasn't afraid of her, but she had her way to convince me. She threatened me. She said that if I didn't do as she said, my father would lose his job which was something that my family couldn't afford. My mother was sick and my father needed the money to pay for her medication. I had no choice. I wrote them a letter explaining everything to them and asking my father to not quit even after everything that happened. Then I left._

_ For the next few months I kept an eye on my parents, just to make sure my father still had his job. The only change was that they had moved him to their second house in the countryside, but that was fine by me, even though I never found out why they did this._

_ After that I moved to Mystic Falls. I found a job and rented a house. I wanted to give you the life that you deserved. You were the only thing that I had left and I that made me love ypu even more. I still remember the first time I held you in my arms. How could a little creature so small and fragile as you bring me all the happiness I could ever ask for? But you did. You filled my life with beautiful moments and I treasured every single one of them in my heart. In a life full of difficulties and pain, you were my miracle._

_ The first 3 years that I had you, I was hopping that your father would come looking for us. But he never came. It didn't matter though, because having you was all I needed._

_ Now that you know the whole story, you can choose of what you'll do from now on. Your father's name is Guiseppe Salvatore. Finding him won't be hard if you decide to do so. But before you choose what you want to do, please take my advice in one thing. The past can't be changed, but the mistakes we did can be forgiven. Don't let the mistakes me and your father did inflict your future. If you want to meet your father do it. Don't judge him and don't go hard on him. After all he might have his own side of this story._

_ The choice is all yours._

_ I love you so much Damon._

_Your mother._

And then I knew that this would be the last time I'd hear from my mother and it felt like losing her all over again. The worst part was that even though I used to be curious about my fathe, but now that I knew the truth I didn't want anything to do with him. He hurt my mother in the worst way possible. But my mother wanted me to find my father and listen what he had to say. She was asking me to find him and also forgive him if it was possible. It was the hardest decision I've ever taken, but if it was my mother's last wish, who was I to say no?

And with these thoughts I fell asleep after I poured myself drinks until the bottle of bourbon of the coffee table in front of me was entirely empty.

* * *

**So that was the 4rth chapter. I know I left it in the middle of the Damon/Miranda talk, but I did it to add some suspense in it. Next chapter will have the rest of their conversation and also some Damon/Elena interaction. You will also get to meet Tom. Please be nice and leave a review. Thanks for reading xxx**


	5. The Dinner Is Surved

The** last chapter got lot of nice reviews. Thank you guys for reading this story. It really means the world to me. Oh, I also got one review saying "It's Alaric not Alarix" and I just wanted to say that I know :P It's just that I wrote the entire chapter using my mobile so it was a typo and I'm sorry about it. Anyway, so here's the 5th chapter(it starts from Miranda's last line from the previous chapter) I hope you guys like it and I'm sorry it took so long to update.**

* * *

"So did you read the letter?" Her voice was serious now.

"I did. More times than I could count." Damon shrugged.

"So tell me, what are you gonna do now that you know who your father is?" She was hoping Damon wouldn't let his egoism take over and keep him away from his only living family.

"I don't know. I need some answers first. Like why the hell didn't my father come looking for my mother? And the fact that his mother was a bitch doesn't even begin to cover it."

"Your mother never figured that out either. The only one who can answer what you're asking...is your father." She paused when she saw him shaking his head in disapproval. "But you don't have to rush things. Take your time, think about it and go find him only when you feel ready." Damon sighed. She really was like a mother to him.

"Thank you." He finally said.

"And I want you to know that no matter what will happen, you're not alone. You have us. We're not leaving you." Her words made Damon's heart warmer. He was happy and he didn't know how to express it in words, so he simply pulled her into a hug. And a simple tear rolled down Miranda's cheek.

"I wish your mother was here to admire her son as much as I do. She would be so proud." She said, still in his arms.

"D-Do you think she died happy? I was always wondering that." He pulled away and looked deep into her brown eyes that were reminding him of Elena's.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because now I know what she'd been through." His voice was shaking and he looked down.

"Hey." She reached for his face with her hand and pulled it back up. "Sarah's life wasn't easy. Lot of things were ripped away from her. But she was the strongest person I've ever met...and you know why she was so strong?" She stroke his cheekbone. "Because of you." She paused. "And the answer to your question is yes. She did die happy. Because she had you and you somehow gave her everything she ever wanted."

"I miss her." It was the first time he ever admitted it out loud.

"I understand." She whispered and that made him remember of her loss. Most people were saying that they understand while they had no idea of what it means to lose someone you love. But Miranda knew. She had lost her husband.

"I'm sorry about Mr. Gilbert." He finally said. He thought she would cry but she surprised him by giving him a weak smile, so he continued. "I guess life is unfair and we should get used to it."

"That's why it's important to at least get to enjoy the good parts of it, for as long as we can, because they can end anytime. Don't you ever forget that." Her words were full of wisdome and Damon knew he wouldn't let them go off his mind.

Half an hour later Miranda asked Elena to escort her to her room and help her get ready for the night. When Elena was finished she closed the door of her mother's bedroom and she walked down the stairs. She searched the house with her eyes to find Damon but something else got her attention..the front door was open. She walked towards it and she looked outside. There she saw Damon sitting in the staircase of the poarch and looking at the nightsky. The image made her eyes look at him in a warm way even if he wasn't facing her. She just felt like it. All these memories of him sitting there as a kid doing the exact same thing he was doing in that moment was making her nostalgic.

"What are you doing out here?" She smiled at his back.

"Just looking at the sky. I forgot how beautiful it looks from here." He said and she approached him and sat next to him.

"I really want to make it work you know..." Elena suddenly said after a few moments of silence.

"What?" He looked at her with confusion painted on his face.

"I want to be friends with you again, Damon." She looked him in the eyes. She didn't know another way to make him understand how much she meant it.

"I want that too. I'm glad I'm back." He said with a husky voice.

"I'm glad you're back." Her voice came out as a breathless whisper. Their faces were so close and her eyes started falling from his eyes to his lips. That was the hint her body was giving her to pull away from him. And she did.

"Shouldn't we get inside? You must be tired." Damon suggested.

"Can't we just stay here for a little longer? The stars are beautiful." She looked up in the sky and smiled and he couldn't say no to her when she looked like this. He shook his head in amusement because he couldn't tell the difference between her and an inoscent little kid in that moment.

So they stayed there not talking. Just enjoying eachother's presence. Elena leaned her head on his shoulder. Damon wasn't used to this kind of gestures but it somehow didn't feel strange. The emotions though that came with it couldn't be explained. If anyone ever asked him to describe his heart he would say it was grey and cold, but while hewas there with her he could almost see it taking hints of its natural colour again. H eknew he was way too broken and way too messed up. He was away from being completely healed...but now he at least knew he was getting there.

* * *

Elena was making a list of what she needed to buy for the family night while drinking her cofee. She was careful to not forget anything but there were so many other thoughts in her mind and they were distracting her. The previous night her and Tom had made up through the phone but he didn't sound exactly happy about Damon being there. Elena knew though that Tom was too much of a gentleman to cause any scenes. But Damon? He was unpredictable and he was too snarky and sometimes even indescent. He could make Tom feel uncomfortable or insult him without even realizing it. She had to think of a way for their meeting to not cause any problems. If this would happen she was sure that the rest of the night would be great.

"Good morning baby." She heard her mother's voice.

"Hey little sister." Jeremy was with her.

"Hey when did you get home?" She approached him and he extended his arms and wrapped them around her.

"When you were asleep..I was out with Anna." He smiled shyly.

"Is she coming tonight?" Elena asked feeling excited.

"Yeah. Also aunt Jenna called. She said she will be out of town for another week. I think she and her boyfriend are having fun." Miranda rolled her eyes. She knew how obsessed her sister was with Logan Fell. She was in love with him since high school. Jenna had convinced herself that she was over but the previous month he had asked her out and she just couldn't say no to him. It didn't take them long to become a couple. Miranda didn't like Logan and neither did Elena. Jeremy was the only member of the Gilbert family who seemed to be okay with him. The truth was that he actually didn't care. Not because he didn't love Jenna, but because he was too bussy with his own love life and wasn't interested in anyone else's.

"And I'm sure she's not gonna save the glory details of her trip to herself." Miranda sighed. "At least she seems to be happy."

"So how did your trip in Denver go? Let me guess. You didn't find him and I win the bet." Jeremy smirked.

"Guess again brother." She gave him a devilish smile.

"No way." The smirk disappeared from his face.

"I found him. I gave him the letter that says God knows what and after reading it he...he wanted to come and see mom."

"He's here?" His voice was a little high.

"Yes." Miranda answered before Elena did. "Why don't you go check on him baby?" She looked at her daughter.

"I have to make you coffee first."

"Jeremy will make coffee." Jeremy still was a little shocked with the news but he shook his head.

Elena left the kitchen and she went upstairs. She opened the door of the room they had given to Damon and she took a peek inside. Damon was still in bed. The sheets only covered the lower half of his body and she could see his bare chest moving up and down slowly while he was sleeping. His face looked so peaceful and beautiful. Everything on him was inviting her to keep on looking, to keep on taking in the perfect image of him.

"Stop drooling." His voice surprised her and made her take a step back.

"Oh..hey..uhmm..I..I was just checking if you're awake." Damon chuckled with her nervousness. Her cheeks were flashd red and her brown eyes were looking at anything but him.

"You don't have to come up with any excuses. If I were you, I'd be staring at me too." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

"How can you be so cocky all the time?" She said as she walked further inside his room.

"I got to admit..it's one of my most obvious characteristics." He stepped out of bed and Elena covered her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was higher than usual.

"Dressing up. But if you want me to stay naked, all you have to do is ask." She swallowed and tried to control herself. The darkest sides of her wanted to just let go and give into the temptation. But she decided to remain calm and stop thinking about him wearing only his underwear.

"You can open your eyes now." He smirked and she little by little uncovered them.

"I just wanted to inform you that we're gonna have a family night tonight. So we have to go buy grocers and stuff."

"Sounds great. And don't worry I will go for a walk and let you enjoy the night with your family." He suddenly started missing Rose and Alaric.

"What are you talking about?" She shook her head. "You're not going anywhere. You will stay for the family night Damon. You are our special guest...you are my..friend." His eyes were lighter for a second. She knew exactly what this meant to him. "So hurry up. I'm gonna wait downstairs." She said and left the room.

* * *

It was almost 9 p.m and Tom, Caroline and Matt would soon be there. Elena was almost ready. She wore short blue dress. It was Tom's favorite and he always thought that blue was her colour. The only thing that remained for her to do now was to zip it. She reached on her back with her hands and started pulling up the zipper. The one moment everything was going great and the next her zipper stuck. She did everything she could in order to fix it herself but when she started sweating from the effort she gave up.

"Jeremy?" She yelled. "JER?" This time her voice was louder. The door next of her bedroom opened and Damon walked out.

"He went to pick up his girl." Damon let his back rest against the wall. "Now what the bell happened to you?" He finally looked at her and noticed just how beautiful she looked. Her blue tight dress was hugging every inch of her body perfectly. A smile spread across his face and Elena cleared her throat in order to bring him back to reality. She couldn't help but feel butterflies in her belly just by seeing him looking at her like that but she didn't let herself express how she felt.

"Oh great." She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I can help you since Jeremy isn't here." Damon suggested.

She knew it was a bad idea to ask him to zip her up because he would get to touch her and she was trying to forget how his hands on her felt. Even though it was impossible. If she could only control the way her body responded to his. She took a deep breath as she made the decision. What other option did she have? And after all it wasn't a big deal. Just a friend helping another friend. Nothing more nothing less.

"I had a problem with the zipper of my dress. It won't go up. Can you put a hand?" She mentally slapped herself. "With the zipper I mean." Damon chuckled at the way her cheecks were flashed red and he approached her and went behind of her. His body was unnessesarily close to hers but it was like he didn't have any control of it. Elena felt his one hand grabbing the top of the fabric in order to keep it in place while his other hand was working on the zipper. The hand that was holding the dress was rubbing at the skin of her back and it was sending tingles to every part of her body. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled these emotions he was giving her out of her system. When he finished, she slowly turned towards him.

"Thank you." He was still standing so close to her and she could see it in his eyes that their little moment had affected him as much as it did to her.

"You're welcome." He gave her a little smile and he didn't move, he waited for her to break the moment. Her eyes lingered a little bit at the smile his lips had formed and then took a step back. She couldn't stand so close to him and keep on denying the attraction there was between them. _ For Christ's shake Elena! Tom! Think about Tom! _

It was like someone heard her prayers because the doorbell made her snap out of her moment with Damon.**  
**

"Sounds like Tom's here." Damon said and opened the way for Elena to go open the door. "After you." He said and smirked.

"Look who's becoming a gentleman." She teased him and started walking down the stairs with a big smile.

"Oh shut up." He said and foowed her.

Elena rushed to the door and opened it. Tom was standing there with flowers in his hands. His green eyes were full of light as his smile grew bigger when he saw her. Elena smiled back and let him walk in. Caroline was standing right behind him and and when she finally wlked in the house she hugged Elena tight.

"I've missed you." The blond girl screamed and held Elena even tighter making it hard for her to response or even take breath.

"Easy there Barbie. Let her breathe." Damon joked as he showed up in the hallway. His voice got Carolines's attention and she immediately let Elena out of her embrace. Caroline was about to say something but Tom cut her off.

"You must be Damon." He said with a friendly smile on his face but Damon could hear the insecurity in his voice.

"The one and only." Damon smirked and shook Tom's hand. "And you must be Nick." Damon said naturally. "Oh wait. Or is he the other guy?" He turned to Elena and looked at her seriously but then he chuckled. She wanted to laugh too because he seemed to really have gotten Tom with his joke but she decided to give him a warning look when she noticed how awkward Tom must have felt. "Relax. I'm kidding. Nice to meet you Tom. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good one." Tom sighed and smiled. He knew Damon was Elena's friend and he wanted to be polite.

"And what about you blondie?" Damon walked towards her full of confidence. "Aren't you gonna say hi to me?" He threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Ugh you're still so annoying." She said but then chuckled.

"I know." He whispered in her ear. "So why don't we go to the kitchen to catch up a little bit and let the couple alone?" He used all his will in order to form these words. He knew that Elena was with Tom and that she was also thinking of marrying him but his jealousy was still burning inside him.

Damon and Caroline went to the kitchen and Tom and Elena walked towards the living room.

"Uhm these are for you." Tom gave her the flowers.

"They're beautiful." She smelled them and then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you." He smiled at her in a loving way.

"You're wearing this dress." Tom pulled her closer to him. "Are you trying to seduce me?" The funny thing was that she wore that dress because she actually felt guilty towards him for spending so much time with someone she was more attracted to than she was with him and also presenting that someone to him as just another friend. She wished she was able to have a say on how she felt but she didn't. And so decided to just make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid while Damon was there. After all it would all come an ending soon. Damon would live and she would keep on living her normal life. She would also get to marry Tom sooner or later. Everything would go as planned in the end, if only she could act normal.

"Maybe." She whispered and winked at him.

"Well..mission accomplished." He pulled her face closer to his and claimed her lips. Elena was the first to pull back.

"I got to run upstairs and see if my mom is ready or if she needs any help. I'll be right back." She gave him a last quick kiss and run to the stairs. Tom went to the kitchen where he found Damon and Caroline getting the table ready for the dinner while casually chatting. He was a little surprised of how easily Caroline had opened up. They were acting like Damon never walked out of their lives. How could they ignore 17 years of not seeing him? But there they were...everyone was treating him like a family member. How could it be so easy for him while it had been so hard for Tom in the beginning?

"Having a good time guys?" Tom said to make them notice his presence.

"We were thinking of what to do after dinner and Caroline said you have a nice voice..so why don't we doing a karaoke night?" Damon said while he continued setting the table and also checking the food.

"Well..." Tom was caught off guard.

"Oh come on! It's gonna be fun!" Caroline yelled.

"Yeah I know...but remember the last time I tried to convince Elena come to that karaoke party last year? She hated the idea...she found an excuse to not go and we ended up watching Gone With The Wind on her couch." Damon smiled because that was his favorite book even though he had never watched the movie.

"You're right..she won't like it." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Start picking your songs blondie. We're having a karaoke party tonight and Elena is gonna participate. Just leave her to me. I'm pretty sure I know just the way to convince her." And that was the moment Tom begun to worry. How on earth would Damon make her do something she didn't like and how was he confident about his success. But that wasn't who Tom was, so he buried his fear and his stress away. If Damon knew of any way to make Elena enjoy that night he didn't have any problem with it. After all he loved her.

"Where is she by the way? We could use some help here." Caroline complained.

"She's upstairs helping her mom." Tom informed them.

"Alright. So, Tom help out Caroline and I'll go tell Elena about our plans for tonight." Damon said and left the kitchen with the towel he had over his shoulder still hanging there. He seemed like he belonged there, like he lived for years in this house.

After 5 minutes Miranda, Elena and Damon were all heading downstairs. The table was al set and Jeremy and Anna were there too. The rest of the dinner went great. The friendly environment made Damon get closer than ever to his wildest fantasies of being surrounded by a big family. He wished Rose and Rick were there with him.

The best part of the night though was the karaoke. Everyone enjoyed it, especially when Damon decided to sing "My heart will go on". He was a terrible singer. Thanks to his brave choice Elena decided to let go and have fun. In the beginning she only agreed to do this because Damon mentioned it in front of her mother and of course Miranda loved the idea. She was surprised that Damon knew he didn't have her in the palm of his hand, which was weird for someone as arrogant as him. He was also smart enough to know that Elena would do anything to please Miranda so of course she ended up giving in without expecting to as well enjoy it. She couldn't be more wrong about that. She haven't had so much fun with her friends in years.

When the karaoke battles came to an end everyone started leaving.

"Please tell me you're staying for next week's family night too." Caroline laughed.

"I have a life I have to go back to." Damon shrugged.

"Whatever. It was nice to see you again ass." She could get uses to him being around. The most important thing for her was that he seemed to have his way to make Elena happy.

"Get home safe Barbie." He smirked.

"Night Elena, night ." She yelled and then went outside waiting for Tom who would give her a ride. Damon was impressed by Tom's talent in singing. He and Caroline had beaten everyone's ass.

"Tom! It was nice to meet you buddy. I hope I'll get to see you again sometime." Damon shook his hand.

"Definitely. I'm looking forward to it." Tom smiled politely and then turned to look at Elena who had approached them.

"I admit it...I was wrong about those karaoke events." Normally she would put her arms around his waist and kiss him goodnight. But with Damon standing there, she just couldn't. She hated the fact that he had the power to affect her relationship even though nothing ever happened between them. And there she was, trying to have a small talk about what a great time she had instead of kissing her fiance.

"I guess we have to thank Damon." There was something weird in Tom's tone, like was trying to be friendly, but had other things going on in his mind. Elena noticed the awkwardness between the two men so she decided to end this moment.

"Yeah. Well take Caroline home now..she must be freezing waiting outside." Elena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He gave her one last smile and left.

"Please tell me we're gonna clean in the morning." Damon gave her the best puppy look he had.

"It course we're gonna clean in the morning. Now it's time to rest." Miranda's voice answered. "Did you have good time Damon?"

"Of course. I've never had such a family night before tonight." His eyes then connected with Elena's "Thank you for letting me stay." His voice was serious while the oceans of blue were burning the chocolate browns. And just like that she lost her words and couldn't reply to him. Not with him looking at her like that, not with her heart beating so fast.

"Elena dear it's getting late, would you mind to help me get to bed?" Miranda said and broke the awkward silence. Elena broke the connection her eyes had with Damon's and looked down at her mother.

"Yeah sure." Elena went behind the wheel chair. "I'll see you in a bit. Why don't you go to the living room? Jer and Anna are there. I think she's staying the night."

"Someone's gonna have fun tonight. I hope they keep the volume low though." Miranda chuckled at Damon's joke.

"Goodnight Damon." The woman said and then Elena guided her upstairs using the ramp they had built near stairs for the wheelchair to be able to go from the 1st to the 2nd floor ad the other way around.

"Goodnight Miranda." And a beautiful night had almost come to its end. But Elena said she would come back in a bit. And he thought this wouldn't get any better. He loved being around her. The only thing he was afraid of was that things could get complicated between them. Now it was even harder for him. He had met Tom and got to see what a nice guy he was and he knew that he could never compete with him. Elena deserved someone less screwed up than himself. These thoughts were killing him. He had promised himself he would never feel unworthy of a woman ever again, not after Katherine.

* * *

**So that was the 5th chapter I'm sorry it takes so long to update but I'm in the middle of my vacation so it's quite hard to concentrate in writing when I'm with my friends most of the time. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. I'd also like to hear of what you thought of Tom. I wanted to point out that his nice and sweet but of course he starts feel the threat of Damon. I also hope you enjoyed the Delena moment with the zipper. I'm taking it baby steps..I know...but they'lly get where you want them to be, don't worry. :D **


	6. Breathing Again

Elena helped her mother get ready for bed. She was happy to see her smiling like that. Her mother was a strong woman but being trapped on this wheel chair and being unable to have a normal life, made her look depressed most of the time.

"Ask him to stay for a few more days." Miranda said while Elena was pulling the covers of the bed.

"I will...his presence is good for you." _And for me. _She added, but not out loud.

"His presence doesn't just do good to _me_...it does good to everyone in this family." She paused. "Especially you. Do you realize that you haven't had fun for a very long time? Do you know what it feels like to be responsible for your daughter's unhappiness?" Elena didn't know what to say. She just tried to focus on a spot on the floor. It wasn't really her mother's fault that she didn't feel happy. After all, she could have left the past behind just like her brother did. But she couldn't, not when her mother was like that. Even though she fought for a very long time in order to continue her life normally, somewhere along the way she couldn't do it anymore, so she surrendered. She wasn't unhappy though, like her mother said. She felt more like...numb.

"Mom, it's not your fault." Elena sighed. "It's mine."

"Let's just say I have a big part in it then." Miranda's eyes were sad now. "Just...just ask him to stay longer. It'll be good for him too."

"I'll see what I can do." Elena smiled. "Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight my baby."

Elena turned off the light and walked out of her mother's room, only to see Damon standing in the hallway.

"I thought you were keeping company to Anna and Jeremy."

"They went to Jeremy's room. I hope the wall between my room and his is thick." His joke made Elena chuckle.

"You did pretty well tonight."

"I was descent...for you." He gave her a shy look when he finished his phrase. It wasn't his style at all. But he wanted to just get over with it, and just say it.

"Thank you." Her eyes were so warm when she smiled.

"Are you going to sleep now?"

"No..I'm not feeling tired."

"Great. That makes two of us. Let's grab a bottle of wine and have endless conversations about man's existential delima in my room." He smirked and Elena rolled her eyes but then nodded. She needed to talk to him after all.

Five minutes later they were sitting on Damon's bed, each of them having a glass of wine in their hands.

"So how did you like Tom?" Elena asked and took a sip of wine.

"Oh boy...I was hopping you wouldn't ask."

"Why? You seemed to like him."

"He's a nice guy..." Damon started.

"But?"

"But I don't understand why you're about to marry him." He finally said.

"Because he's a good person and he loves me...and I love him."

"I see." Damon wanted to scream in her face what a big mistake she was about to make. She basically admitted what he had already noticed. Elena wasn't in love with Tom. At least not anymore. She was with him just because she was used to it...and probably because she wasn't brave enough to end things now. The worst part was that she wasn't just in a relationship with that guy. She was also going to marry him. He wish he could say something that would change her mind but he knew he didn't have that right. "He's boring though." He decided that a snarky comment was the best way to change the topic and hold himself from saying things that he shouldn't.

"He's not boring! He's normal." Elena defended Tom. "I happen to like normal."

"But you like _me_." Damon smirked. He knew he wasn't exactly the example of a normal person.

"Not _all _of the time."

"Alright..tell me three things you don't like about me." He raised his brows while waiting for her to start talking.

"Easy. I don't like your snarky commentary." She stopped to think "Or the fact that you think you are God's gift to women...or the fact that you never think twice before saying something."

"You didn't even have to think too much about them." He chuckled. "It's like you had them in your mind before I even asked you."

"They are your most obvious characteristics." She said like it wasn't big of a deal. "Your turn. Tell me three things you don't like about me."

"Three things I don't like about Elena Gilbert. That's a tough one." He admitted and looked into her eyes while a big smile appeared on his face. His comment along with the way he was looking at her made her blush.

"You don't let yourself have fun. You're stubborn. And last but not least..you put everyone's happiness and needs above yours." He paused. "And yet...I'm pretty sure you're the most beautiful person I know." His voice was like silk and his eyes were full of emotion. No one had ever looked at her in this way. Not even Tom. But what shocked her the most was that she was looking at him in the same way. She was so stunned by him and his words and his little smiles that were making her heart melt. In just a few days time, Damon had gotten under her skin. The feelings she was getting while he was around were bittersweet though. Because even though he was making her feel alive again in a way no one else could ever make her feel, she knew that he wasn't meant to stay in her life forever. _If only he had came back in my life before I met Tom. _She knew that these thoughts were bad especially now that she had accepted Tom's proposal...but she couldn't stop her mind from playing with the scenario of how her life would be if she was with Damon and not with Tom.

And when she started having this kind of thoughts again she knew that it was time to break their moment, so she looked away.

"What?" Damon asked.

"Nothing." She sighed.

"I thought you were about to say something."

"Well..." She started. "I actually wanted to ask you for a favor." The moment he heard the word "favor" he knew that his answer would be yes. No matter what she asked him to do he wouldn't be able to say no to her, not when she was looking at him with these brown doe eyes.

"I'm all ears." He said and finished his wine.

"Can you stay in Mystic Falls for a little longer?" The confused expression on his face made her go on with what she was asking him. "Look, I know it's too much to ask, but your presence does good to my mother. She seems to be so happy that you're here. I just want this happiness to last for a little longer." She paused for a moment. "Please." And with that she took his hand in hers. She knew she sounded and looked desperate but she wanted her mother to have what she needed. It was the least she could do.

"Ahh..sure." He said after a few seconds of thinking about it.

"Really?" Her eyes were brighter, her voice higher and she couldn't hold back her excitement.

"Yes." He smiled and before he could understand what was happening she had threw her arms around him, holding him tight. The force she had used almost made him lose his balance. If she had only used one more bit of strength they wouldn't have been in a sitting position anymore and his back would have landed on the pillows while she would be on top of him. The scene played in Damon's head instantly. He didn't have any control of it. Once more he realized that he was acting like a teen boy who had zero experience in women. He pushed every thought away and closed his eyes in order to enjoy this moment. He wished he could hold her like that all the time. But he didn't have good enough excuses to do so. They were just friends after all. Or at least that was what they both kept on telling themselves.

Elena was the first one to pull away. She looked into his eyes still having a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you." And just like that she had the power to make his heart melt.

"But me staying here...wouldn't that annoy you? I mean, I never think twice before saying something. Also I think I'm God's gift to women and my snarky commentary is unbearable." He repeated her words and that made her laugh out loud.

"You're not so bad. Actually there are things I like about you." She said in a sweet voice.

"Okay so here's the deal, I'll stay for a few more days...but you have to tell me at least three things you like about me." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"You're unbelievable."

"Is it a deal or not?"

"Deal." She said and shook his hand.

"Perfect." He gave her a charming smile. "So Elena...tell me, what is it that you like about me?" _You! _The voice inside her head screamed.

"Do we have to do this now?"

"No. We can do it another time if you want. But don't you start hopping I'll forget it, because I won't." He wiggled his brows.

"Don't worry. I know you won't."

"Good." He smirked. "So what are we gonna do for the rest of the night?"

"We can watch a movie or something." Elena suggested.

"Movie it is then."

They watched 'Gone With The Wind' since it was one of Damon's favorite movies. Elena fell asleep after watching the first two hours of the movie. She hadn't realized how tired she was until her eyes started closing and her head fell on Damon's shoulder. He took care of her and covered her with a blanket and kept watching until he surrendered into a deep sleep as well.

* * *

The light that was coming in from the window made Elena open her eyes. She wasn't in her room. _That's weird_ she thought but then remembered everything that has happened the previous night. She had been invited in Damon's room and she had asked him to stay longer and he had accepted her proposal. _Shit! I must have fell asleep while watching that movie. I need to get out of here. _She could feel Damon's body pressed against her, his warmth inviting her to stay there. With all her will she got out pf bed very carefully in order not to wake him up, but failed.

"Goodmorning." The sound of his voice made her jump a little and he chuckled at the sight of this.

"Did I wake you?" She said quickly while fixing her dress. She cursed herself for sleeping in it especially when she was sharing beds with Damon.

"No. I've been awake for over an hour." He informed her while stretching out.

"Really? Why didn't you say anything?" She felt so awkward.

"I didn't want to wake you up. You looked tired, so I thought I'd let you have some more sleep." A smile was formed on her face. She loved it when he was being sweet.

"Thank you." She said finally. "But what time is it?"

"It's 10 a.m" He said after checking his phone.

"Oh no. Tom said he'd come to see me. He wanted to discuss about our relationship."

"You don't look very excited about it." He could read her so well.

"He's gonna probably want to talk about the marriage."

"If he's pushing you just tell him."

"Damon...please stay out of it." She looked at him begging him with her eyes to just let it go.

"Fine. But if you need a friend to talk to..just know that I'm here for you." Damon couldn't believe in his own words. He had just offered to help the girl he was falling in love with to fix things with her boyfriend.

"Thank you." She was once again caught in the moment and her eyes were staring at him a little bit too long, capturing the image of him looking at her with such devotion. "Anyway, I have to go change clothes. I'll see you later."

She walked out of his room and headed to her mother's.

"Good morning sweetie." Her mother said.

"Hey mom. Have you been awake for a long time?" She asked with a sweet voice.

"Half an hour. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Alright, I'll ask Jeremy to help you downstairs and then I'll come to make you some coffee."

She left Miranda's room and walked towards her brother's room.

"Jeremy wake up!" She shouted while knocking his door.

Seconds later Jeremy opened the door covered with the sheets from his bed.

"Too sleepy to wear your boxers?"

"What do you want?" He said clearly annoyed.

"Mom is awake. Please help her go downstairs because I need to take a shower." She kept on staring at him. He looked so tired and she had no idea if he was focused on everything she was telling him. "And please put some pants on. Jesus."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and closed his door at her face.

"Well that was rude." Elena murmured.

* * *

Damon opened the fridge to find some milk.

"Hello Damon." He heard a male voice that he was sure he knew and turned to see who was talking to him.

"Oh hey Tom. Didn't see you there man." Damon forced a smile on his face. "How long have you been here?"

"For about 10 minutes. Jeremy opened the door when he was helping downstairs."

"Is Miranda awake?" Damon asked him and looked to the direction of the living room. The fact that he was calling her just by her name made Tom feel a little uncomfortable. He knew for a very long time but he still didn't feel confident enough to use her name while talking to her. "Excuse me." He said and left the kitchen.

"Goodmorning Damon." Miranda was sitting on her wheelchair as usual.

"Goodmorning to you too." He walked towards her and fell on his knee to give her a kiss on the cheek. "So how are you feeling today my lady?" He said with a very sofisticated expression on his face that made Miranda laugh.

"I'm well my dear. Did you sleep well?" She asked while caresing his cheek.

"Yes." He smiled back.

"Tom come and sit with us. You don't have to wait all alone in the kitchen." Miranda said loud enough for Tom to hear and come to the living room instantly.

"So Miranda I had this idea." Damon ignored Tom and contibued their conversation. "We could go for a walk today. Grab some lunch together. What do you think?"

"I don't know Damon. I won't be a good company. I'm not very fun."

"I'm sure you'll do great ." Tom popped in and Miranda smiled at him.

"You and your daughter have zero self-esteem. You're way more fun than you think."

"Oh alright. I'll tell Elena to help me get ready." Miranda finally agreed.

"I hope you two will have a great time." Tom smiled politely.

"Hey." Tom and Damon turned to look at her the second they heard her voice.

"Oh hey darling." Tom reached the spot she was standing and left a kiss on her forhead. Damon tried to not laugh at the sight of them acting like 70-year-old couple. _Oh Elena, if only you were mine. _He thought.

"Elena, Damon would like to take me for a walk today. Is that okay?" Elena was surprised but a big smile was formed on her face.

"Really?" She asked him with such an enthusiasm in her voice.

"Yes. Just help her get ready."

"Yeah of course. In half an hour she'll be ready to go."

* * *

Damon and Miranda had a nice walk at the town square while drinking their coffee. They were talking for hours. Damon couldn't get enough of hearing her stories from high school. He even told her some of his own stories from the Midnight Rose and made her laugh with her heart.

"So tell me, are you having fun?" He asked her and reached for her hand on the table.

"I haven't had so much fun since a very long time ago. Thank you." She smiled.

"From now on I will be visiting very often and we'll be getting to hang out more."

"You can visit any time you want. Our door is always open for you."

"Thanks." He grabbed a bite from his plate.

"So tell me Damon, what is going on between you and my daughter?" Her question made him choke with his food. "You don't need to panic. Just tell me the truth."

"I didn't panic." He told her when he was finally able to speak again.

"So there's nothing going on between the two of you?"

"Why are you asking me that?" _Oh crap, she knows. _He thought.

"Maybe because you two shared beds last night." _Wait! How does she know that? _Damon was trying to not look nervous.

"Well..."

"Elena came into my room this morning wearing the same dress she was wearing yesterday."

"Yeah, that's because we watched a movie together and we fell asleep."

"Oh." Was the only thing she said. Was that disapointment he had just heard in her voice? He couldn't tell.

"She's with Tom and they're pretty serious right?"

"Tom is. Elena isn't."

"Yeah I figured." He said and took another bite from his food.

"Did she say anything to you?"

"Nothing you should be worried about. Relax and enjoy your lunch." He gave her a smile but his head was clouded with thoughts. So he wasn't the only one who had noticed that Elena wasn't ready to marry Tom.

"You're right." She smiled back. "Damon you're such a handsome young man, ladies must be all over you. But...have you ever had a relationship?"

His expression changed. Hiw jow clenched. Of course he had been in love.

"Katherine." He said with a low voice.

"But you're not together anymore." He nodded. "What happened?"

"Ιncompatibility. But I don't like talking about it." Miranda knew there was more to the story but she decided to drop it. "One day I'll tell you." He smiled at her.

"Good." She smiled back.

* * *

Elena was sitting at the edge of her bed thinking about the fight she had with Tom earlier, when she heard her mother's voice from downstairs.

"I had a great time Damon. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it."

She walked down the stairs and saw Damon on his knees holding her mother in a tight hug. She couldn't help but smile at this sight. He just kept on amazing her. And as he kept on amazing her the less she could deny the way she felt about him.

"Hey sweetie." Her mother saw her and Damon instanly turned around to look at her. They didn't say a word but the way they smiled at eachother let them exchange a thousand of silent messages. In that moment Miranda was finally sure. They were falling in love.

"What are you all guys doing behind the door?" Jeremy walked in the house and caught everyone's attention.

"We just got back. Damon and I went out for a walk." Miranda informed him.

"Yeah, Elena told me." He smiled. "You look different...happier." Jeremy was so glad to see his mother like that.

"I am." She said. "Baby, can you please help me go upstairs? I'm really tired now."

"Of course."

"You won't moan about it?" Elena asked him surprised.

"Nope. Now please get out of the way you two." Damon and Elena went in the living room and let Jeremy help his mother.

"Damon are you tired?" Elena suddenly asked him.

"Not one bit. Why?"

"Would you like to go out for a drink later?" For some reason her heart was pounding inside her chest.

"Sure." He reduced the distance between them and Elena couldn't stop staring at his lips as he got closer. "Knock on my door when you're ready." He said in a low voice. He gave her a smirk and walked out of the room while she kept on standing there breathless. His was words were on replay inside her head... _Knock on my door when you're ready. Knock on my door when you're ready. Knock on my door when you're ready. _They sounded so simple...but for her the was a double meaning there. What would she do?

* * *

**Okay so that was the 6th chapter. I know it's been months since the last time I updated the story and I'm sorry about that. The thing is I went to college and my schedule was always so full and when I had time to write I felt like I couldn't concentrate. Today I felt like writing and I did. I think the chapter is way better than it would have been if I had written it one of those times that I just wasn't focused. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I don't know when I'll update again but I can promise you that I'm gonna finish this story. xoxo**


	7. Drunk

Elena walked in her mother's room careful not to make any noise that would wake her up.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm not sleeping."

"Why not? You need to rest." She sat at the edge of the bed.

"Have you ever felt so happy that it was impossible for you to fall asleep?" Miranda smiled at her daughter.

"Yeah..I have. Is it because of Damon?"

"Not only because of Damon. It's also because of Jeremy." Elena was surprised. "When he brought me in my room he promised me we're gonna spend more time together and that we'll be going out for walks all the time." Elena couldn't believe in her ears. Jeremy wasn't the person who would show much of emotion since their father passed. Elena always felt like Anna was the only person who could make him feel something and express it. But now he was getting better. Maybe seeing Damon acting like a real son made him realize all those things he could have done for his mother and never did. "Elena, I don't care about the walks. We can stay home all the time. I just feel like I'm getting my son back." Tears fell from her eyes.

"Things are getting better mom. Jeremy will find his old self, I know that."

"He's getting there." She smiled and grabbed her daughter's hand. "Now..please tell me what happened with Tom today?"

"We had a fight. He wants the marriage to happen soon. But I...I'm.."

"Elena listen to me." She cut her off. "I'll tell you something and I want you to think about it." She looked in her eyes protracted. "If you feel like your feelings have changed you can say it. And you better say it before it's too late." Elena thought about it for a second and then nodded. She didn't know what to say. Her mother was right. Her feelings had changed...she just didn't knwo if she was ready to admit it. "Do you promise me you'll follow your heart on this?" Elena smiled and nodded again. "Good. And have a great time tonight."

"How do you know I'm going out tonight?"

"I'm your mother. I know everything." Elena laughed at her statement.

"Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight baby."

She walked out of the room and pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket to check the time. She needed to start getting ready. But before that there was someone she needed to talk to. She searched her contacts and found Caroline's.

"Hey!" She heard Caroline's voice.

"Hey." Elena started walking towards her room.

"Oh my God! Why do you have your "something's up" voice on?"

"I'm in desperate need of some girl-talk." She closed the door of her room as she walked in.

"I think I already know what you want to talk about. But let's not do it over the phone. I can be there in half an hour."

"I can't. I'll go out with Damon." There was a long pause until she heard Caroline talking again.

"Oh..."

"Say something please."

"Elena I don't think you're ready to hear what I have to say. Look...just go out tonight, have fun and we'll talk about it tomorrow. Okay?" She said with a sweet voice.

"Okay. Don't make any plans for tomorrow night."

"What plans can I make when my best friend needs me?"

"I love you." Elena smiled.

"I love you back. Look I got to go. See ya."

"Bye."

They hang up. Elena knew that the following night was going to be a big one. But she also had a bad feeling about it and she couldn't shake it.

* * *

"Finally miss Gilbert. I was beginning to worry that you won't show up." Damon said with a smirk on his face and then bit his lip. Elena found the sight very erotic and looked away. "It was worth the wait. You look stunning." He said with a low sexy voice that was making her wet.

She was wearing a black short tight dress and high heels. Her hair were falling on her shoulders long, wavy and more beautiful than ever. But the one thing that had caught Damon's attention and made his heart skip, what felt like a thousand beats, was her red lipstick that was making her lips irresistible.

"You don't look bad yourself." Damon had kept it simple. He was wearing black jeans and a black shirt but they were enough to make him look like every woman's dream.

"Shall we?" He smiled politely and opened the door for her.

Fifteen minutes later they were at a local bar ordering their drinks. Elena was a little nervous. She suddenly felt like all of this was an exploration about her feelings for Damon and it was a big step for her to even admit they were there. A day before she wouldn't even admit these feelings existed. But now how could she deny it? Especially when they were standing on her way.

"You okay?" Damon smiled at her.

"Yeah, it's just...you did so much for us and I don't know how to thank you."

"Elena I'm not doing all these because I want you to feel like you have to thank me. I just feel like doing them. Now let's get drunk." He winked at her.

"I don't get drunk easily." She stated.

"Great! I'm glad to know that one of us in gonna be sobber and not let unknown women take advantage of this body tonight."

"Cocky." She said while the waitress served their drinks.

"He has every reason to be." The woman said. "If I was his age I'd definitely try to get him drunk." She winked at him.

"And you are?" Elena said with a soured expression on her face that she just couldn't control.

"My name is Bree honey." The negro woman said. She was about 40 years old and attractive.

"I'm Damon." He said and surprised Elena. DON'T YOU DARE START FLIRTING WITH HER. She screamed but just inside her head. "Well Bree, you're very beautiful and I bet that if you were my age I'd let you get me drunk. But the thing is that these days are over for me. A few months ago I proposed to this beautiful young lady and we're getting married very soon." Εlena gave him a what-the fuck-are you-talking about kind of look but he winked at her and that made her understand the game he was playing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I mean it's obvious there's something going on between you two, but there's more. You're pretty serious huh?" Bree asked with a smile on her face. Oh my God! Did she just say it's obvious? Elena's thoughts were going crazy. It was a dangerous game to play with Damon as a partner, but she had promised herself that tonight she'd just let herself free to enjoy everything that Damon's company could offer her. Well..not everything. She thought.

"Yeah we are." She finally got in the game too. It could be fun after all. But she regreted it the second Damon reached for her hand and held it in his. The goosebumps started to raise the minute that his flesh met hers. She mentally face-palmed herself ang cursed her body for giving her away so dryly.

"You two really got my attention now. Why don't you grab your drinks and come by the bar? After all, this place is almost empty."

"What do you think baby?" He smiled at her and placed a light kiss at her hand, making her heart do crazy things inside her chest.

"We'll be there in a minute." Elena said politely and Bree walked away. "What the hell are you doing?" Elena said with clenched teeth.

"Having fun. Oh come on! We can make up fake stories and laugh all night long." He looked so excited. "But if you feel uncomfortable we can stop right there. I could pretend I'm having a panic attack or something and leave." Elena thought about it for a few seconds.

"Oh screw it. Let's do this!" She said and finished her drink in one shot. "But remember there's one basic rule we should follow in order for this to work. Whatever the other says. Just go with it."

"So yoou'll just go with whatever I say for an entre night? This should be interesting." He wiggled his eye-brows.

"I'm so gonna regret this." Elena whispered to herself.

They approached the bar, where Bree was sitting alone drinking bourbon.

"Oh there you are." She said when she saw them coming.

"Let's do shots." Damon suggested.

"Oh I'm in baby." Elena said. Damon sat on a stool chair and before Elena had the time to sit on her own, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him.

"Don't sit. I want you close to me." Thanks to her heels her face was almost at the same level as his.

"Okay." Elena barely formed the word. She was caught off guard.

"Come on you two, you're gonna have a lifetime to gaze into eachother's eyes. What are we drinking?"

"Tequila will do." Damon said without taking his eyes off of Elena's. She was just starting to realize in what trouble she had gotten herself into. They'd have to act like a couple for the rest of the night. Oh boy. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

After eleven rounds of tequila shots the three of them were joking and laughing like old friends. Elena was sitting at the bar stool next to his. They weren't face to face like they were before but he now had his hand on her thigh and she was holding it there.

"You know what?" Bree said with a smile. "When you told me that you were gonna get married, I thought, 'God what are these kids doing'? 'Why would they settle down from such a young age'? But now I see it." She smiled at them. "You really complete eachother." The words hit her like a bucket full of cold water. Someone had just made the realization for her. Damon was the only person who could complete her. That's exactly what was missing from her relationship with Tom. She looked at Damon. Her expression was serious now, which made him take her hand in his and then look at Bree confidently continuing their conversation. Elena's mind though had shut their voices out. The only thing she could think about was her hand in his. It felt so right, even though she knew how wrong it was to be holding it, especially when she finally knew that her intentions weren't friendly at all. She could hide it from the others all she wanted, but she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She was falling in love with him. Any other moment than this, she would have freaked out. But after eleven tequila shots and the feel of her skin against hers, she just wanted to let go for one night. Maybe in the morning she'd find the strength to start denying once again what she and Damon had, and do the right thing by Tom. But tonight she would just let go.

She came out of her thoughts when Damon squeezed her hand without realizing it.

"Don't tell me about loud sex." She heard him saying to Bree. "Elena and I once stayed the night at a motel. I'm sure the people who were there that night, will remember us for a long time. You know I did that thing with my tongue and she-" Elena's cheecks flashed red.

"DAMON!" She looked so cute when she got mad at him.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of baby." He said and kissed her cheeck lightly, making her brain freeze for a moment. "After all, I can't say that you don't affect me in the exact same way." He smirked.

"Damon though is more loud in other situations." If he was going to play dirty, she would play dirty too.

"Such as?" Bree asked all curious.

"Yeah Elena, such as?" Damon repeated the negro woman's words.

"Every time we watch a horror movie he starts screaming like a little girl and hiding under the blanket."

"No way!." Bree laughed with her heart.

"Such a coward huh? But you agreed to marry me anyway." He said and did another tequila shot on his own.

"You can call me crazy." She said and he rolled his eyes, but then smiled at her.

"Crazy about me." Damon winked.

"He really is cocky." Bree admitted.

"I know." Elena said in a sing a song voice. "So, what about another round?"

They spent the rest of the night like this. They were drinking and having fun. Elena felt like she suddenly travelled back in time, in days when she was younger and carefree. Damon was the only one who was able to make her feel like that way again. Alive. And she didn't even have to try. After the car accident and her father's death all she was doing was try. She was trying to help her mother. Trying to reach her brother, who had completely shut her out. Trying to be the woman Tom wanted. Trying to not break. But she was sick of it. Damon had brought the light in her eyes back. He had done the impossible. Made her feel like the future wouldn't only hold more pain for her. He made her hope that everything would get better. And she needed that.

"I swear this room is suddenly spinning." Elena said and laughed.

"Damon I think you should take her home. One more shot and she will be on the floor."

"Come on baby. It's time to go." Damon said and helped Elena stand up.

"What? No! I wanna stay here and drink!" She said in a drunken tone. Damon ignored her and helped her put on her coat.

"Come on. Say goodnight to Bree." He said and slid his hand at the small of her back, always ready to catch her if she couldn't stand.

"When did you become so responsible?" But Damon gave her a warning look "Goodnight." She pouted at Bree's direction.

"Bye sweetie." The woman smiled. "And remember one thing. No matter what a hard time he gives you sometimes and no matter how cocky he is, he loves you. Anyone can see that from miles away." But Elena was too drunk. She couldn't analyze Bree's words, even though a part of her brain was screaming that they were too important.

"Bye Bree. We'll see you around." Damon said and helped Elena walk to the exit while she completely leaned on him.

They walked towards her car and Damon helped her in the passenger's seat. After a moment he was inside the car with her. Elena reached for his hand with hers, which stopped him from starting the car.

"Damon." She said with eyes that couldn't focus. "Please don't leave me." She cried and he turned his whole body to her direction so he could face her.

"Hey...I'm not going anywhere." He took her face in his hands trying to calm her down. Where did the happy mood go? "I'm right here."

"No, you don't understand." She said while sobbing.

"Talk to me." Damon said worried.

Her drunken self couldn't start analyzing everything she's been thinking for the entire evening. This version of herself could only say what she really wanted in the most simple way possible. And that was for Damon to never leave her. She wanted him and everything he brought in her life to stay with her. Elena looked into his ocean blues and then his lips.

"I want to kiss you." She said. Elena would have never said something like that. But in that moment she couldn't think of what was right and what was wrong. She could only think of what she wanted and how she felt.

Damon held his breath and his body froze. His eyes were looking at her lips. Her red lipstick had been torturing him all night. He wanted to ruin that lipstick. He wanted to taste her mouth and get lost in her and then he wanted to make love to her until they couldn't move anymore.

"Elena." He whispered and his face got closer to hers. His eyes closed and so did hers. His one hand was holding her face in place and the other was taking her long wavy hair out of the way. She felt his hot breath caressing her face and she knew his lips were only an inch away from touching hers. She pushed her face forward but he pulled back. He wanted this kiss her more than anything. He wanted her more than anything. But he couldn't do that. She was drunk and he wouldn't ever take advantage of that. With any other woman he would have just gave in. But Elena was too important. "I can't." He finally said and broke out of the spell that was pulling them together.

"Why?" She whispered. Her face still inches away from his. He stroked her cheeck which made her open her eyes.

"Because when you finally give in. I don't want it to be because you're drunk and confused. I want it to happen, because you just can't not do so." And with that he moved his lips on her forhead. Elena closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. It was intoxicating and it made her feel even more relaxed than she already was.

"Now let's go home. You need to rest." He said and started the car.

They remained silent at the entire car ride. Damon used all his might to not even look at her.

When they got home he helped her get in her bedroom. He tucked her in bed and made sure she didn't need anything else.

"Damon." She called him right before he was about to leave the room. "Please stay here."

"Elena go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning." But his voice was giving away what he really wanted. He wanted to just do what she had just asked him to.

"Please." And once again he was too weak. She made him weak. He couldn't say no to her. With other woman he was always in contol, he was the one calling the shots. With Elena it was different. Satisfying her, or making her happy in any way possible...he just loved it. And while his heart was demanding for him to listen to its owner, another voice inside his head started screaming that this would be a mistake. Yeah, it was probably the last time he'd actually get to hold her in his arms. But she was valnurable and she was one of the few people in his life that he'd never take advantage of.

He went near her and leaned down so that she didn't need to look up in order to see his face. Her eyes met his.

"Please stay." She said again.

"You don't want this." Damon said softly. "You're not ready for this." He wasn't talking about the fact that she wanted him to sleep next to her. He was talking about everything that this would bring in her life the next morning. They'd have to talk about it. He'd push her until she would finally admit that she doesn't want to get married with Tom and then she'd have to make a choice. But what would be the point in that? As much as he wanted to scream in her face, all the things that he was able to see, that she couldn't, he also knew that she had to figure things out on her own.

"How do you know?" Her voice was just a whisper.

"Because I know you better than you know yourself." He smiled. A sad smile. "Goodnight, Elena."

He didn't hesitate anymore. He walked out of her room, before she could change his mind. He did the right thing and that made him feel a little proud.

* * *

The sound of the door-bell made Caroline fall out of her peaceful sleep. Her brain was still not working. She was pretty sure though, that she wasn't expecting anyone. She checked out the time in her mobile phone. It was 8 a.m. Who could it be? It was still early. She heard the bell ringing again, this time the sound was followed by some knocks on the door too. She jumped out of bed and put on her blue robe. She walked down the stairs and rushed to the door.

"If you're a thief, just so you know, my mother is the sheriff of the town, so just leave." She said loudly.

"It's Elena." She heard her friend's voide at the other side of the door and she opened it immediately.

"What are you doing here at 8 a.m? It's early even for seize-the-day-ers like me."

"I can see that." Elena scanned her friend from head to toe. "Thief? Really? What kind of thief rings your bell?"

"You know what? I haven't had coffee yet, and yesterday, it was a pretty crazy night, so shut up and come in."

Elena walked inside the house and went to sit in the living room.

"Don't talk to _me _about crazy."

"What happened? We were supposed to spend the night together, not the day." Caroline's schedule was always full, so it remained strict. And Elena had just disorganized it by showing up unannounced.

"Caroline." She said in order to make her friend stop talking. When she got Caroline's attention she continued. " I don't remember a thing from last night." Elena said and Caroline froze.

"Fuck the coffee. I'm gonna need vodka to do this." A bottle of vodka was on the coffee table in front of them and she reached to grab it. She had left it there last night after she had a couple of glasses to calm her nerves.

"I want you to be sobber when you hear all this, because I really need your advice right now." Elena took the bottle from Caroline's hand and placed it back on the table.

"How bad is it?"

"That's the thing. I don't know." Elena sighed.

"Tom showed up here last night." Caroline just spilled and Elena's eyes got wide.

"What? Why?" Elena had a bad feeling about this.

"He's jealous Elena. A guy from your past who's sexy as hell lives under the same roof as you and he also seems to be interested in you. All this, plus the fact that you don't seem so willing to marry him makes him worry." Caroline was happy that she was finally saying everything she was thinking. Tom had gotten her in the middle last night and she didn't like that at all. It actually made her panic. "So he showed up and asked me if I know anything." Caroline paused.

"What did you say to him?" Elena asked in a very serious tone.

"That I don't know anything of course. What else?" Tom was a good friend, but Elena was like family. So even if she thought of telling him the truth she decided that she could never do that to her, and she stayed out of it.

"This is all my fault." Elena said and let her head fall in her palms. "I'm so sorry Caroline. I didn't mean to bring you into this mess."

"What are friends for?" The blonde girl said and smiled. Yeah, the previous night really had been stressful but she was already over it.

"Did you say anything else to him?"

"Yes, I told him that he doesn't need to worry and that there's nothing going on between you and Damon...which was true about that time." Caroline tried to smile but she didn't feel like it, so she just quited.

"Do you think something happened between me and Damon last night?" Elena asked.

"I think that it's possible, but let's not rush into conclusions. Let's take it from the start." The other girl suggested.

Elena told her everything she remembered. She told her about Bree and how jealous she felt when she flirted with Damon. She told her about Damon's little role play idea and how real it felt. She told her how free she felt while drinking and laughing with him. She told her about what Bree told her. She remembered that very clearly. She had told her that they complete eachother. She also told her about all the things she realized about Damon. All of her thoughts, about everything he's brought into her life and how scared she is of losing them...of losing him.

"And then nothing. They're all flashes. We were in the car and our faces were so close and I remember his lips. And after that...darkness."

"Why don't you ask him?" Caroline suggested.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to have this conversation with him." She didn't even know what she was supposed to ask.

"Damon is the only one who has the answers you need."

"But what am I gonna do if? If...you know." She didn't even wanna think about that possibility.

"I think that first of all, you need to be honest with yourslef. It doesn't matter if you kissed him or even had sex with him. What matters is that he has gotten under your skin anyway." Caroline stated. "You are attracted to him and all of his bad boy glory. And why wouldn't you? You said it yourself. He makes you feel alive. He has brought back all the good things that were missing from your life, with all the tragedy sarounding you. When have you ever talked about Tom like that?"

Elena was speechless. Caroline was saying out loud everything Elena was afraid to admit and that made her feel like someone had just told a secret loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I love Tom, Caroline. I do." Was all Elena managed to say. Maybe it was the only thing she had left to say.

"I know you love Tom. But are you in love with him?"

"I don't know. I have a good time when I'm with him. And he's so sweet with me and he doesn't like fighting with me. He's basically the perfect boyfriend. Why wouldn't a girl want all that?"

"And Damon isn't?" Making her talk about both of them was the only way she could help her.

"Things with Damon are different. When I'm with him...it just...it consumes me. And he somehow makes me feel free and I just let go. But he also knows how to push my buttons. He can drive me crazy. I mean, one moment we're fine and the next we could be fighting. He's unpredictable and it scares the shit out of me." Caroline was smiling the entire time. Her friend was falling in love and it was the real deal this time. She could see it in her eyes. She could hear it her voice. There was something passionate in the way Elena was talking about Damon. There was a sparkle in her eyes, one that she didn't have when she was talking about Tom.

"One last question. Have you ever thought of Damon sexually?"

Elena parted her lips and took a big breath. Then she simply nodded.

"Then everything is crystal clear. You're falling for him. It might scare you, but it's the truth. The sooner you admit it to yourself the better."

"This can't be happening Caroline. I'm with Tom. I'm about to get married with him. I can't fall in love with someone else." Elena's eyes were filled with tears.

"You're not married yet. You can still change your mind." Caroline smiled.

"Caroline I've been with Tom for a very long time. He proposed and I said yes. I can't just change my mind about something like this." Elena said desperately and the tears finally fell from her eyes.

"Do you hear yourself right now? Elena, marriage is a big deal. It's something that you need to be 100% sure about, and I can see that you're not."

Elena wiped away her tears.

"I can't deal with this. Not right now." She took a big breath. "Do you mind if I stay with you for the day _and_ night? I think you're the only person it's safe to be around right now."

Caroline nodded and pulled her friend in a hug.

"Everything's gonna be fine." She said.

"You believe that?" Elena asked still in her friend's arms.

"I _know _that. Things will fall into place. You'll see."

* * *

**So that was another chapter. Sorry for the late update. Let's just say that wirting can't be put in my priorities. But I do love the story that I'm trying to tell and as I said the last time that I updated I_ will _finish it even if it takes years. So please tell me what you guys think. I read all your comments and it's really amazing to know your thoughts on each chapter. So thank you for supporting this fanfic. I love you all xoxo**


	8. Hide And Seek

**Thank you for all your reviews. They mean the world to me. Miss Katakouzina has offered to publish my story but I declined :P (I'm kidding...it was just my BFF leaving a review and trolling me..toobad I didn't fall for it). Anyway, here's another chapter. Things are about to get crazy. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Damon was sitting on the couch watching TV. That's all he's been doing all day long. Jeremy was out with Miranda and Elena wouldn't answer her phone. _Like avoiding me is gonna solve anything. _He said to himself. He was almost sure that there was a reason behind her absence, and that reason was the previous night and everything that went down between them. He could still remember the way she had looked into his eyes and then almost kissed him. He could still remember how desperately she wanted him to stay with her during the night. So where was her now? _Maybe she is with Tom. _The voice inside his head responded. He could feel the jealousy building up inside him. _That jerk! _He thought angrily and punched the pillow that was next to him. That was it, he was going to call her again. He grabbed his phone and searched for her contact. He pressed the "call" button and waited.

"Hey, it's Elena. Leave a message and I'll call you back." He heard the voice mail.

"Hey, it's me. Can you do what you're actually saying in your voice mai and call me back? I'm worried." He said and hung up.

At the same time he heard the door opening and basically jumped on his feet, full of hope that it'd be her. It was the first time in his life that he felt disappointed by seeing Miranda and Jeremy.

"Hey, look who's back." He managed to smile.

"Don't tell me you've been playing with my X-BOX all day." Jeremy teased.

"I became a pro at it. I could even beat _you._"

"Yeah, you wish." Jeremy chuckled.

"You boys will never grow up." Miranda laughed. "How was your day sweetie?" She could sense that there was something wrong.

"Boring." He simply said.

"Didn't Elena stay with you?" Damon knew that she was fishing for information. She wanted to know if anything happened the previous night.

"Nope. Maybe she's with Tom." Damon shrugged.

"No, Tom's at the Grill with a friend of his. We saw him." Jeremy's information lifted Damon's mood a bit.

"Let me call her." Miranda said. Moments later Damon heard Elena's voice. It wasn't the voice mail this time.

"Sweetie where are you?" Miranda asked and Damon wished he could hear Elena's answer.

"Oh, I see. See you tomorrow baby." And they hung up. "She's at Caroline's she's staying there for the night." Miranda informed the boys.

"I'm going upstairs. I'm exhausted." Jeremy said. "Do you want me to help you get ready for bed?" He asked his mother.

"No, I don't feel tired. I'll keep Damon some company." She smiled at both of them. "Goodnight son."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left them alone.

"You don't look very well Damon." Miranda stated.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He forced a smile on his face.

"I know that there's something bothering you." She said kindly. "You don't have to share it with me. Just know that everything will be alright in the end."

"You Gilberts really are quite the optimists." He chuckled. "By the way, I had the time to do some research on my father today."

"I suppose you found him."

"Yeah I did. He's quite the name." Damon said bitterly.

"So..how far did you go with the research?" She was nervous about this.

"Not much. The basics. Career and family."

"And?" Her heart was beating faster for some reason. She really cared about Damon like he was her own son.

"He's the manager of a publishing house." He paused. "He has two kids. A son and a daughter. His wife has passed."

"How do you feel about all this?" Miranda was worried.

"I don't know. My mother was suffering her entire life and not only he never came looking for us, but he also started over and had a family. How do you think I feel?"

"I understand." Her gaze fell on the floor. "I see you're not ready to meet him yet."

"I don't think I will ever be ready."

"You will. And all of us will be by your side. You are family, Damon." She smiled and there was so much love inside her eyes.

"Thank you." He paused and thought for a second. "Do you think Elena will get mad at me if I show up at Caroline's house uninvited?"

"You really want to talk to her, don't you?" He nodded. "Then I think you should go find her."

"I will. But first let me help you upstairs." Damon approached her and stood behind the wheel chair.

Half an hour later he was standing outside Caroline's door wondering if he shuld knock or not. _You only live once. _He said to himself and knocked. He waited for a couple of seconds and then he heard someone approaching.

"It must be the pizza." He heard Elena saying and the next second she opened the door. The shock was painted all over her face when she saw him.

"Damon?" She said breathless.

"Hey." He gave her a weak smile ans sighed.

"What are you doing here?" She was starting to panic. She wan't ready to have this conversation with him.

"I came to talk." His eyes were begging her.

"About what?" She decided that if she played dumb he might leave.

"Well...you've been avoidding me all day."

"I was with Caroline." She stated but he didn't say anything. "I'll stay here tonight."

"Yeah I know." He wanted to talk to her about the previous night, but he could sense how nervous she was. He didn't want to torture her like this. After all this conversation was far too important for him and he thought that they should have it only when she would be ready, that was the only way for him to recieve the truth and not excuses. "So, since everything is okay...I'm gonna go." He smiled awkwardly and begun to walk away.

"Damon wait." _What did I just say? Oh shit. Now there's no going back. _She mentally slapped herself.

He turned to face her with eyes full of hope.

"Do you wanna take a walk with me?" He nodded.

"Okay just give me a sec." She said and went back inside the house.

"Were you flirting with the delivery boy? Why did it take so long? And wehre is the pizza? I'm starv-."

"It's Damon." She said and that's what it took for Caroline to stop bombarding her with pointless questions.

"What is he doing here?" Caroline asked her friend nervously.

"He wants to talk. And you know what? I can't keep on playing this game. I want to talk to him too. I wanna know the truth." She sighed. "I'll be back soon. Wish me luck."

"Good luck." The blonde tried to form a smile.

Elena grabbed her jacket and walked out of the room and towards the doorstep, where Damon was still waiting. The cold night breeze welcomed her as she stepped out of the house. The night sky was clear and she could see the stars. The perfect night for a a nice walk.

"Glad it didn't take you a century to come out." He joked. She laughed for the first time that day. He was the only one who could do that at times like that.

"So waiting annoys you huh? Good to know how to bite back every time you do something that annoys me." A devilish smile was on her face and he thought it made her look sexy as hell.

"You wouldn't dare." He smirked.

"Oh I would." That smile was still on her face.

"For someone who finds me so annoying and doesn't want to be like me, you sure are good at it." He paused. "Anyway, we're out here to talk."

"Right. But the thing is I don't remember much from last night."

"What do you remember?" He sighed.

"I remember us going at Bree's bar and doing your little roleplay-for the record, worst idea ever- and getting drunk. And then there are just some flashes of us in the car. I can't put them together." Damon rolled his eyes. _Of course she wouldn't remember the good part. Thanks for this, universe. _"I thought that maybe you could help a little." She smiled awkwardly.

"Okay I'll tell you. But you have to promise me that you won't go hard on yourself." He knew Elena well and he knew that she would feel ashamed and guilty towards Tom.

"God, just tell me Damon!" She shouted.

"Okay fine!" He said with the same tone she has used. "You said you didn't want me to leave and then you said you wanted to kiss me...and..."

"Did I do it? Did I kiss you?" She could feel her throat getting dry. Her eyes were wide open, begging him to say she didn't.

"Realx. Nothing happened." He said and she stopped holding her breath and left a sigh of relief. "You tried though." He added.

"What do you mean I tried?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"I mean..." He stopped walking and that made her stop too. "You brought your face close to mine...you looked into my eyes and then you almost closed the space that was separating us." He looked deep inside her eyes. "And then I pulled back...I didn't let you do it." He looked hurt.

"Why?" She asked breathless, as she pushed herself to remember everything he was telling her.

"Why what?"

"Why did you pull back? You didn't want it?" _What the hell am I asking him? _

"I didn't want to take advantage of the situation." He stated.

"So you wanted it." He didn't refuse it so she continued. "Then what stopped you? You don't give the impression of a guy, who doesn't take what he wants." She was taking too far but she needed to know the truth. If he really wanted her...then what did that mean for her?

"What kind of question is that? You wanted me to just let you kiss me while you were drunk?" His anger was building inside him. "I'd never let that happen." It was undeniable, he had feelings for her. Elena could now see it more clear than ever. Damon wasn't the person who would put a girl's feelings before his own but he did it for her and that meant the world to her. "You know what?" he suddenly continued his speech. "We're here talking about what _I _did and we're not discussing the most important thing. How did _you _ really feel about it? Did _you_ want it?" Elena was caught off guard. She just looked into his blue eyes and she knew the answer. But how could she ever admit something like that, when she was about to get married to another man? She was so ashamed of herself. "Elena?" He touched her face in with both his hands, his gaze holding hers intensely. His touch was intoxicating and it was making her feel safe, like she could say anything to him, like it was right to give in. But she couldn't. She knew how wrong it was.

"Please-" She begged him, but her body was moving closer to his instead of pulling away. Their faces were only inches away.

"You wanted it." He said as the realization hit him. His lips formed a little smile that was making him look like an angel. His ocean blues fell on her lips and then locked with her chocolate brown ones.

"Don't." Elena begged him, but it was just a whisper and the moment he closed the distance between them and his lips touched hers softly, she didn't pull back.

* * *

Tom couldn't - he didn't _want - _to believe what he had just witnessed. He fought the urge to go there and stop them. He just closed his eyes. He didn't want to look at this. He didn't want to watch his worst fear coming to life. He knew that Elena was attracted to her friend, and he sure as hell knew that he wanted her as well. But he thought that he could trust her. He thought that she would never do something like that. He felt angry and hurt and betrayed. He leaned on the hood of a car in order to keep his balance and for the first time in years he let himself cry. He couldn't think of another way to get the pain out of his system.

* * *

The moment she felt his lips on hers, she could swear that her heart stopped beating for a second. It was one of those kisses that the writers described in books. It was a kiss that could make the fireworks go off and the earth stop spinning. It was the kiss that every woman dreamed of, one that made every heartbeat feel like a nuclear explosion.

Elena's hands cuped his face and then she let them travel further until she reached his hair. They were soft and perfect and she let herself enjoy the feeling of having them between her fingers. Damon's right hand stayed on her face while the other one grabbed her by the waist and brought her body even closer to his. Elena let a moan escape her lips and that made Damon deepen the kiss. His tongue demanded entrance in her mouth and she gave it to him. He tasted like ambrosia and she couldn't get enough of it. The movements of their lips were slow and passionate as their tongues danced together. It was the first time they ever kissed but it felt like they've been practicing at this for years. She couldn't remember anyone ever kissing her like that. She could swear that she had never experienced anything more erotic in her life.

The sound of Damon's phone made them come back to reality. _Oh crap! _He thought and cursed himself for taking a mobile with him. They both pulled away fast. Damon reached inside his pocket and picked up.

"Perfect timing Ric." He said sarcastically.

"We have a problem." Ric said seriously, ignoring his friend's tone.

"What happened?" Damon was now worried and Elena could sense his hand that was still on her waist tense.

"It's Rose. She's sick and she's going to need to rest for a few days." Alaric sighhed. "I'm sorry man, but I can't handle the bar alone. You need to get your ass over here."

"I'll be there by tomorrow night." Damon said and they hung up. He placed the phone back in his pocket.

"What happened?"

"Rose is sick. I need to go back." He sighed. "But you can come with me if you want. Jeremy wouldn't have a problem to take care of Miranda by himself for a few days." He smiled and his eyes were full of light and hope. She loved hearing him making plans. For a second she believed that she could just let everything behind her and follow him. But she couldn't.

"Damon you know that I can't." She said and pulled away from his touch. The hope in his eyes was replaced with pain.

"Why not? Am I not good enough?" His voice was low when he asked that.

* * *

_"Am I not good enough?" He could feel his heart breaking into tiny little pieces before he even heard her answer._

_"I'm sorry Damon." She said between sobs. "I don't want to do this."_

_"Then stay. You don't need your father. You can start over and I'll be by your side, Katherine. I promise." He was desperate. _

_"You don't understand and I don't expect you to. Please let me go." With these wrods she left the room before he could react._

_Pain. That was all he could feel._

* * *

"Damon everything is messed up. Tom is in the middle. What am I supposed to say to him?"

"Tell him the truth." Damon grabbed her hands and held them in his. "I felt it Elena. You might want to keep on denying it, but I felt it. Your entire body respended to mine, because you want this." He pulled her hands out of his.

"I'm not that kind of person Damon. I can't change my life just like that." She yelled.

"What's stopping you? You're not in love with him." He fired away.

"That's none of your fucking bussiness!" She screamed in his face and left him speechless. "Damn you!"

"You're such a coward Elena! For once in your life do what you really want!"

"If I'm such a coward why are you wasting your time on me?" She felt the tears burnng in her eyes.

"You know what? You're right. Consider that kiss a mistake. I can see that it didn't mean anything to you." With that he turned his back and started walking away.

Elena was left alone and she finally let the tears escape her eyes.

* * *

"So this is it." Damon said.

"We're gonna miss you." Miranda said as he leaned to hug her. "Be careful please and come visit us soon."

"I will." While they were still into eachother's embrace.

"Good." She said and let him go.

"Come again soon man." Jeremy shook hands with him.

"When I come back, I'm gonna kick your ass at this X-BOX game you're so obsessed with." Jeremy laughed at this.

"Elena?" Damon said. He had already regretted everything he had told her the previous night. He wish he had the power to take everything back. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt her.

"Just be careful, and come back to visit whenever you want." She finally said.

He moved to hug her but on second thought he awkwardly extended his hand to her and she shook it with her own. Miranda tried to figure what was going on. Why where they suddenly acting so cold?

Tom came into the room and stood behind Elena.

"Damon the car is here." He said and tried to force a smile on his face. He couldn't wait for the moment that Damon would be out of their lives. He had decided that one kiss was something that he could forgive. After all Elena had decided to stay with him and that's all he needed. Her betrayal has hurt him but he believed that they could survive it. He wanted to give her another chance and try to forget what he had see with his own eyes the previous night.

"Thanks for arranging this. Elena would have had to take me all the way back." Damon shook Tom's hand.

"Don't mention it. After all I didn't want her to leave again. I want her here with me." He put his arms around her and Damon took in the sight and smiled bitterly. _Maybe Tom is good for her. _He tried to convince himself. Tom felt like he won. He loved to see Damon back off. He loved seeing his confidence being shattered.

"Anyway. I'll see you guys soon." Damon and Elena exchanged one last look that said everything that they were afraid to say.

She turned her back because she couldn't watch him leave.

Every step that he took away from her, hurt him. But he had to do this. She had made her choice and he had to let her go.

* * *

**So that was it. I know it wasn't a big chapter but a lot of things happened. Elena and Damon basically admitted that they have feelings for eachother and they kissed for the first time(btw, how did you feel about the kiss? Did you think it was rushed, or was it on point?), Tom saw them but never talked to Elena about it and instead decided to simply forgive her and try to forget about it and Damon finally goes back to Denver after he has a fight with Elena. I promised "crazy" didn't I? Damon and Elena will stay away from eachother for a couple of chapters I guess(we'll see how it's gonna work out), but I'll try to keep the story interesting and focused on them even if they're not interacting. I can't wait to read your reviews. If you have any questions you can find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon) and I will be happy to answer and even give you some spoilers. xxx**


	9. Distance

**Thank you all for your reviews, they really keep me going with this story. So here's the 9th chapter. I hope you're enjoying the journey so far. Prepare yourselves for a little drama. I hope you like it.**

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"You look like hell." Alaric's voice woke him up. He had no idea of how many hours he slept like this. He was sitting at a table at Midnight Rose. The same table he was sitting at, the previous night, when he finished drunk half bottle of vodka all by himself. "The alcohol is for the clients, not for the depressed people who work at the bar." He said and took the bottle of vodka away from Damon.

"What time is it?" Damon asked, ignoring the rest of Alaric's speech.

"Time you need to wake up, take a shower and come back here to help me." Alaric shouted. "I've been understanding the entire week. Elena chose to stay with that other guy, it reminded you of Katherine, and now you're a mess. I get it! But this needs to stop!"

"I'm trying Ric!" Damon yelled and hit the table with this hand. Alaric could see how hurt he was, and he had every reason to be.

"Why don't you call her?" He finally said and sighed. He knew that suggesting something like that was too risky. If Damon called her and things didn't end well he'd be ten times worse than he was in that moment. But he'd help him get through this.

"I have." Damon admitted.

"You've been calling her?" Alaric had no idea.

"At least thirty times this week." Damon said dryly.

"And she obviously didn't answer." Alaric said, but more for himself to hear.

"What're _those _faces?" They heard the voice of the woman who they've grown to love like family. They both looked at Rose, who was approaching them.

"Look who's all better." Damon smirked. Seeing her somehow lifted his mood.

"Look who's all worse." She said and came to stand directly in front of him. _Too much about the mood lift._

"I tried." Alaric said. "I followed your instructions the entire week."

"You've been talking to Rose about all this?" Damon asked him with eyes wide open.

"Of course he has." Rose stated. "But for what I know, you didn't really talk. And I quote 'he moslty opens his mouth to consume alcohol.'"

"Thanks Ric!" Damon said sarcastically and Alaric lifted his hands like he was surrendering.

"Like I needed _Ric_ to figure that out! You're predictable. Every time that someone or something hurts you, you're shutting everyone who cares about you out and alcohol and kama sutra become your best friends." She knew him too well. "In this case, sex with random people hasn't happened yet, which I guess is progress." It was true. Damon hadn't slept with a woman for way too long for his standards. Ever since he came back, he couldn't flirt, he couldn't have fun and he couldn't feel any kind of joy. He wanted to be his old self, but Elena Gilbert had changed him. He wanted her and _only _her. This had never happened to him before, not even with Katherine.

"No one seemed to be my type with week." He smirked in order to annoy her. He just wanted her to just let him be.

"Oh please! Don't give me this shit. When it comes down to one night stands you don't have a type." Rose hissed back. "So let me tell you how it goes. I called two friends of mine and asked them to replace us for tonight, because you and I need to have a long conversation abut how you actually _feel._" Damon wanted to hit his head on a wall.

"I don't want to talk. I want to work and then go home and sleep it off. How about you leaving me alone?"

"How about you start expressing your emotions like a normal person? Cry, shout, hit something and get it the fuck out of your system. Stop being so self destructive."

"_Fine! _We will talk, just stop shouting. My ears and head are extra sensitive right now." Damon said run his hand through his hair.

"Of course they are. That's what happens when you drink yourself to death." She said and walked way from him. He was in big truble.

* * *

Elena was laying on her bed, starring at the ceiling. Images of her and Damon were passing before her eyes. She remembered the butterflies she was feeling in her stomach every time she was around him. She remembered the goosebumps she got every single time she felt his skin on hers. She remembered all the times he made her laugh with her heart, and all the times he did something nice for the people she loved. She also remembered how perfect his lips had felt on hers in that one kiss they shared. She remembered. And she missed him. She missed how full of himself he was, she missed his snarky commentary and his annoying smirk. She missed the way he was able to push her buttons and drive her crazy in a matter of seconds. If she had a hole in her heart for every part of him, that she missed, she wouldn't have a heart anymore.

She had hurt him. She knew that. But she had no other choice. The difference between her and him, was that Damon was free to do whatever he wanted with his life. Elena on the other hand, had already made decisions that couldn't be undone. She had agreed to marry another man, long before she met Damon. And why wouldn't she agree? There wasn't any way that she could've known, that someone like Damon would walk into her life and make her fall so deep in love with him. She had no idea that someone, could actually exist. She didn't even know that she could ever want someone so badly. She had never felt it, and when other people were talking about love, she always felt like they were just exaggerating. She wished she would have known that they weren't. But then again, back then she felt completely numb and Tom had managed to make her feel something. That looked enough back then. But now, Damon made her feel everything at once. Passion, lust, love. She never thought she was capeable of feeling anything so strong for someone.

Life had been unfair to her. She had lost so many things in such a young age and she had to deal with things that most of teens didn't have to. Everything is her life had been hard. And when she met Damon, everything stopped being so hard. She felt like she could rely on him, like he would be by her side through everything, if she asked him to. He would have been there to make Miranda's day just by keeping her company, or play video games with Jeremy and he would have been there for her. He would have been the one who would help her cook and the one who would sing karaoke with her even if they were both terrible at it. He would have been the one taking her into new adventures thanks to his spontaneous ideas. He would have given her everything she needed without even trying, but by just being his amazing self.

And while thinking of all that, she heard someone knocking her door.

"Come in." She said and sat on the bed more properly.

"Hey." Tom smiled.

"Hi." She said and tried with everything that she had, to smile back.

"Look, my father has arranged dinner with some investors for tonight." He sat at the edge of the bed. "He said that he wants us to go too. My brother and his wife will be there as well." Elena was surpirsed by what he was asking her. Couldn't he see that she wasn't feeling well? He didn't even ask her if there was something wrong.

"I'm not in the mood, Tom." She sighed. She still felt guilty towards him and she would do just about anything to make him happy. But if they went out with his father, he would start asking about the marriage and she wouldn't be able to give him any kind of answers.

"Elena, after leaving me alone at the company's anniversary, I'm not just _asking _you to come tonight." Tom said and his green eyes were a little bit threatening.

"So you're telling me that it's an order?" Elena's voice was high. She couldn't believe that he was forcing her to go.

"You know what? You can see it whatever way you want. You're coming tonight. So wear something formal. I'll pick you up at 9 p.m." He did a move to kiss her cheeck but she pulled back.

"I don't want to come!" She shouted.

"Why not Elena? Is it so hard for you to do something for me?" He spit back. "You don't wanna go out with me, you don't want to marry me yet, hell you don't even spend time with me anymore." He knew how to make her feel guilty. He _wanted _to make her feel that way, and when Elena looked down the floor, he knew that he had succeeded.

"You're right. It's just that...I had too much on my plate lately. I didn't mean to push you away." She said looking inside his wasn't honest and that made her look away. "I'm gonna go get ready now." She informed him.

"Yeah...well.." Normally he would have said something to make her feel better. That's what he did every time they had a fight, but not this time. "I'm gonna pick you up in 2 hours."

"I'll be ready."

He left the room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Rose and Damon were sitting in Damon's living room. They've been talking for over an hour and Damon looked better than before.

"So she's engaged." Rose took in the information.

"Yep." Damon said like it didn't really matter.

"And how is this guy?" Not that it was important, but she was curious.

"Good-looking, the romantic type, boring as hell in my opinion, rich...well actually scratch that. His father is rich. Tom is just kissing his rich father's ass." He shrugged.

"I think I got the picture." She said and chuckled at the way Damon was describing him. "And you took her out and she got drunk and almost kissed you and then the following day you kissed her and she enjoyed it just fine."

"WIll you keep on repeating the story that I just told you? It's annoying."

"I just wanna check if I got everything right." She said without really paying attention to him. "And after she gave in, she told you that she wants Tom?"

"No. She told me that she can't _leave_ Tom." He explained.

"Well, it's simple." Rose begun saying. "Tom is Elena's safety. And from the way you described him, it is normal that she thinks of him like that. So, if he's and hasn't ever let her down, she wants to do the same for him. She feels guilty for the kiss she shared with you and wants to do the right by him, even if it means fighting whatever it is she feels for you." Rose grabbed Damon's hand. "Try and put your self in her shoes. You asked her to basically change her entire life. Break the heart of someone she loves and leave behind her relationship to come explore what you two have. And I'm not saying that what you have with her is not worth it, it's just something that she's not familiar with. These things take time and a lot of thinking, Damon. Especially when it comes down to Elena. Life didn't exactly go easy on her. She's lost her father and then almost lost her mother as well. Maybe she's not ready to lose Tom, just to experiment with you." She finished her speech.

"Rose, she knows that I wouldn't let her down, or do anything to hurt her." He let a sigh escape his mouth.

"Then..." Rose stopped to think.

"Then what?"

"If she has feelings for you and deep down she also knows that you won't hurt her, you need to give her time. She needs to understand what these feelings mean for her as a person but also for her relationship. And then figure out what she trully wants. You just need to wait."

"No. You know what? I'm done. I've been calling her all week and she didn't pick it up once! If she wants to talk to me, she's gonna be the one to make the first move."

"Yes I agree on that. But you have to put a deadline to all this. You can't be waiting for Elena your entire life." He decided that her advice was good.

"You know what? You're right. I'll give it one more week. If she doesn't call, then I'll..." He sighed and never finished his sentence. Because honestly, he didn't know what he would do.

"Everything will be fine." Rose wasn't sure about that, but she's say anything to make him feel better in that moment. She had never seen Damon so miserable.

"I hope so." His lips formed a smile. A smile that couldn't reach his eyes. Maybe that would be his way of smiling for a while.

* * *

Elena was sitting next to Tom. She was glad that no one was paying attention to her, because she was sure that she looked miserable. She wasn't talking and she hadn't touched her food. She was only smiling politely every time that someone on the table was looking at her. If she was lucky, the rest of the night would continue just like this. But she wasn't.

"So Elena." said. "My son told me today that the wedding will happen the following month." She must have misheard.

"Excuse me?" Elena was starting to feel uncomfortable. Everyone was basically hanging from her lips.

"The wedding Elena." said again. "It was about time." He smiled from ear to ear. This smile was giving her nausea. Why did Tom lie about something like this? Why didn't he tell her anything? How could he make this decision for both of them? Elena felt sick. She wanted to run away from them. She wanted to hide from everyone and just cry. But she couldn't. She needed to be strong. She decided to just go with what Tom had said. She didn't want to start a fight in front of the investors.

"Yeah, I guess it was. Right Tom?" She gave him a soured smile that made his jaw clench from nervousness.

"I'm very happy for both of you." said but Elena didn't take her eyes from Tom. She wanted to make sure that he felt bad about this, and by the guilty expression on his face, she was very successful on that. "To Tom and Elena." He said and raised a glass of champagne and everyone did the same.

A few minutes later, Elena excused herself and went to the bathroom. She wasn't feeling well. She wanted to get out of there and fast. She grabbed her cell-phone out of her purse and called Caroline.

"Hello?" She heard her saying.

"Caroline it's an emergency. I need you to pick me up." She said quickly.

"Woah, Elena slow down. What happened? Where are you?" She was starting to panic.

"Relax. We'll talk about it later. Just come and pick me up. I'll text you the adress." She said and hung up.

She texted Caroline the name of the reastaurant and then got out of the bathroom and went to sit back on the table.

"Excuse me." She said and everyone's eyes were on her imdediately. "Something came up and I have to go."

"Is everything alright? I can come with you." Tom was playing nice all of a sudden, but this made her want to slap him. She still couldn't believe what he had done.

"No, it's okay. Stay here. Your father needs you. Caroline will pick me up in a bit." She said coldly. At this point she didn't care if everyone on the table noticed that there was something wrong.

"Okay." He simply said. "But let me escort you outside." He said and got up from his chair without waiting for her approval. Elena said goodbye to everyone on the table and turned them her back.

Tom and her walked out of the restaurant and stood there waiting for Caroline.

"Please say something." Tom was the first to break the silence.

"I'm not doing this right now." She said with a cold tone.

"Elena, please..." He begun.

"No Tom! I said I don't want to talk to you. Please get back inside and let me be, for tonight." She had never talked to him this way before. She was furious.

"Okay." He lingered a little bit longer and then left her alone.

Before she knew what was happening tears started falling from her eyes. _I need to get used to this. _She thought.

* * *

Damon had offered to clean the bar. It was the least he could do. God knows what he'd put Alaric through the whole week. But after talking to Rose he felt all better. He was sweeping the floor when he heard someone's steps behind him.

"We're closed." He said without looking.

"Even for me?" He heard a voice that he knew better than his own. He slowly turned and faced the woman that had broken his heart in the worst way possible.

"Katherine." His voice was just a whisper. He was standing there and the words had all left him.

"The one and only." She said confidently.

"You've got to be kidding me." He shrugged.

"I'm passing by." She explained. "I wanted to see you." She said and moved closer to him but he took a step back and she stopped. "I think I owe you an apology." She looked at him like a kid waiting for approval to eat candy.

"I don't wanna hear it." He said and decided that continuing sweeping was his best option.

"I don't care! It's something that I need you to hear and you will." Damon laughed bittelry.

"Of course. Your needs are always above anyone else's." He shouted.

"And you're staborn like always!" She hissed back. "I'm not here to just tell you how sorry I am. I mean, how pathetic would that be?" She paused. "I'm here to tell you something that you never knew." Damon gathered himself a little at this statement.

"Has it ever crossed your mind that I might not care anymore?" He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to make her feel bad after everything she had put him through.

"You have nothing to lose by hearing me out." She kept on pushing him.

"Okay then." He sighed. "Start talking You have five minutes." Maybe if he let her talk, she'd be out of his hair. After everything that had happened with Elena, he couldn't deal with this drama too.

"Five minutes will do." She smiled. "I haven't been completely honest about the reasons I left you back then. I let you believe that it was just because my father wanted me to marry Elijah. But it wasn't just that. I didn't just leave you because I wanted to be in good terms with my father. I left you because he threatened me. He said that If I stayed with you he'd destroy you. And you were already suffering enough Damon. I couldn't just be with you and not think about what would come next. I had to leave you." Damon was speechless. He never knew that part of the story. He couldn't believe that he'd lost her just because someone else was making all the decisions for them. If he knew back then, everythign would have been different. But he didn't. And nothing could be changed now.

"What are you saying, Katherine?" His blue eyes were wide open and the shock was painted all over his face.

"I'm saying that, it was always you. I never wanted Elijah. I felt disgusted when my father forced me to marry him. But bussiness comes first." She said and took a step closer to him. "I'm so sorry, for everything. I know that I hurt you. But it was for your own good." She waited for some kind of reaction but she didn't get any and she continued. "I'm not asking you to forget everything that's happened. I just want you to give me a chance. Be friends again." She was begging him with her eyes.

"Why now?" He simply asked.

"I'm devorced Damon and my father died four months ago. I'm free to do whatever I want." She informed him, never taking her eyes off of his.

"And what do you want?" He asked.

"Your forgiveness." She answered. He had nothing to lose. By forgiving her, maybe he'd have the chance to finally close that chapter of his life for good. He didn't want to remember everything that happened between them in the past. He wanted to finally leave it all behind.

"You have it." He said and she smiled. "But that doesn't mean that we're friends." He added.

"We'll have time to fix this. I'm gonna be staying here for a while. I'm visiting a friend." She continued smiling.

"I don't know Katherine. I need some time to think about it. I can't just suddenly forget everything and be friends with you." He wasn't accepting her offer but he was declining it either.

"I know." She said and looked on the floor. "Take your time. I'll come to see you again soon and you can tell me what you decided." She was almost sweet in that moment. Damon couldn't tried to smile. "So I'm gonna go now." She continued. "It was nice to see you again Damon."

"Goodnight Katherine."

When he was alone again he sat at a chair and got lost in his thoughts. If this meeting had happened before Elena had gotten into his life, he'd be a mess. Rose would have probably sent him right away for therapy and Alaric would have removed all the sharp objects from his house. But now he felt like it didn't matter and he didn't even feel like reacting to her sudden entrance in his life. He didn't care about her. There was though one brunette that he _did_ care about. He checked his phone, making sure he didn't have any missed calls. There was none.

* * *

**So that was another chapter. Please let me know your thoughts on Tom and Elena(it's obvious that they're on the outs). Also the scene that I enjoyed writing the most, was the one that Rose talked to Damon. I think that as a woman she could understand Elena all better and I think that she made him see things that his way of thinking(like a man) didn't allow him to. Also, how did you like Katherine's entrance? Did it shock you? Or was it predictable? I thought about it really carefully before adding her in the story and I have some cool stuff planned out for her character. More cliff-changers are coming up! This chapter didn't let you see much of how Elena felt about Tom and how Damon felt about Katherine, but that's exactly what we'll be exploring on the following chapter(s). Keep the reviews coming. You can also find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon) and I'll be happy to answer to your questions or even give you some spoilers if you want. Love you all xxx**


	10. Stop Crying Your Heart Out

**Wow it's been 10 chapters. This is great. Thank you guys for supporting this fanfic (it's my first, as most of you know), you're all amazing. Keep the reviews coming..they really help me, because I need to know how you guys feel about the characters and the storylines they have. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did when I wrote it.**

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Elena was standing nervously outside Tom's house. It had been four days and they had only spoken once on the phone, in order to arrange their meeting. Tom was expecting that they would just have a fight about what had happened at his father's dinner four days ago. But Elena had talked to Caroline and knew that she was there to meet him, for a completely different reason. She wouldn't lie anymore, she couldn't. It was time for her to say the truth out loud, to the person that needed to know it the most. And after telling him the truth she would go find Damon. She owed him an apology as well. She hurt him and she was sure that the fact that she didn't return any of his calls had made things worse. She didn't have any expectations though. She knew that he had the right to stay mad at her. She knew that there was a chance that she would lose him too. But she couldn't do otherwise. She wouldn't be able to live with herself knowing that she didn't try to make things right. Her entire life, she was an honest person and she wanted to keep it this way. She knocked Tom's door twice and waited. Only moments later he opened it and stood in front of her awkwardly.

"Hey." He said and tried to smile.

"Hey." There was uncertainty in her voice.

"Come in." He invited her and she walked inside the house. Tom's house was minimal. Probably the most futuristic house she had ever seen in Mystic Falls. But there was something wrong about it. Every time she walked inside it, she felt like everything was too cold. Nothing around her was giving her any emotions or awaking any memories. Even though she had spent countless of nights in it, it still felt unfimiliar and strange. It never felt like home. "Do you want a drink?" He asked politely, as he approached her. He was holding a drink on his own.

"No thanks." She said and sat on the minimal black couch of his living room.

"So, I'll let you start." He said as he sat on the leather chair across her. _Maybe it's not really the right time to tell him. _

"I don't really know what to say." She looked him in the eye. "I never thought that you would do something like that. You made a decision that was only half yours to make." She decided that talking about their fight at his father's dinner, was the easiest way to start tha conversation. She felt the anger burning inside her chest though, but she controlled it. She wasn't there to acuse him. She was there to confess _her_ sins, but when she started to remember the way she felt in that dinner table, she just needed to get it out of her system. "What were you thinking? We've talked about this a thousand times and you knew how I felt. You knew that I didn't wanna rush things." She tried her best to not raise her voice more than needed. He seemed to be calm too.

"It was a mistake." He started. "You know that my father's always pushing me on this department and I didn't know what to say to him anymore. I've used every excuse in the book, I even told him that _I _wasn't ready for this." He took a sip of his drink. "But I want this Elena. I want to marry you and start a family with you. Why don't _you_?" There was something desperate in his question.

"It's not that I don't want it. I just don't feel ready to start a family." _Great Elena, lying again. _"You have me. I'm with you. Why isn't this enough?" _Maybe I should just tell him now._

"Do I?" Tom asked. He did his best to forget about it, to act like it never happened, to think of it as a moment of weakness. But he couldn't anymore.

"Do you what?" She was confused.

"Do I have you?" Elena's eyes got wide open the moment he finished his sentence. _He knows? _

"What do you mean?" She asked carefully.

"I saw you Elena." He yelled before he even knew what he was saying. The sudden raise of his voice got Elena by surprise. _He saw me..kissing Damon? _She thought that tonight she was going to be the one to get him by surprise, but it was Tom that got _her. _She started to panic. She felt ashamed. She never meant to betray him like that, but her feelings for Damon were way too strong. The moment he kissed her, she couldn't hold them back anymore. Her heart was beating fast and she thought it would explode at any moment. "You let him kiss you." He took a deep breath and continued. Elena was waiting for him to tell her what an awful person she was. To yell, to scream. She knew she deserved it and she had been prepared for this. She never thought that he already knew though. He didn't say anything. "I thought that it was just a mistake. I thought that if he left town, everything would go back to normal, but nothing's changed for the better! On the contrary, everything's changed for the worse. You stay locked in your room most of the time and you only talk to Caroline. It's almost like I don't exist in your life anymore." He paused in order to calm down. Elena seemed like she was about to cry, but he didn't care in this moment. He wanted to say these things for a long time and he was holding them back.

"Tom, I'm so sorry." She said and her voice broke as the tears started falling from her eyes. She felt like she wanted to die. She let her head fall in her palms because she wanted to hide. She didn't want him, to look at her.

"I know you are." He whispered. "And I've already forgave you. I wanted to fight for us. I didn't wanna let a mistake ruin what we've been building for years. But I can't do this alone. You have to want this, as much as I want this." He finished his drink and went to take a sit next to her. "I want to start over and put all the bad stuff in the past. You won't have to feel guilty anymore, because we will never have to talk about this again." His eyes were full of hope. "I love you. I will always love you. Will you fight for us?"

That was enough. She couldn't hold it back anymore. It was her turn to speak. He had to know the truth. She loved him too much to be lying into his face. She knew she was risking to lose him forever from her life, but she breathed deeply and did what she had to do. She had promised herself _and _Caroline that she would be brave.

"I wish everything was so simple." She sighed and looked deep inside his eyes. "I could accept what you're offering and we could start over. But I would never stop feeling guilty towards you." She looked away for a moment. "Because, it's not just the kiss that I feel guilty about. I have feelings for Damon. Feelings that can't go away. I tried to fight it. I did." Tears fell from her eyes. "I wanted nothing more, than to do the right thing by you. Because I do love you and I didn't want to let you down, like you never have let _me _down. But this thing is above me. I can't control it. And I can't exactly keep Damon out of my life either. The moment he would come back to town this thing could happen again, and I wouldn't be able to look you in the eye ever again." She went silent.

"So you're saying that you have feelings for him." He said dryly. "And why didn't you tell me Elena? Why weren't you honest?" He had an I'm-so-done-with-everything voice going on and that scared her.

"I didn't know how to tell you. I couldn't find the words. I was so ashamed. Even now, it is hard. But I'm telling you, even though I know I'm gonna lose you." Her heart was breaking into a thousand little pieces. She wasn't in love with Tom. She knew that. But that didn't mean that she didn't love him. He was the person who showed her that it was okay to feel again after her father's death and the accident. He had stood by her side and she had done the same every time he needed her. Being with him felt natural back then. She couldn't separate friendship from love, because she had never been in love with someone. But now she knew the difference, even if it was too late. "I love you Tom. After everything that we've been through, it's hard to imagine my life without you. But I have to do this. You deserve a girl, that will be in love with you and will want to marry you and start a family with you. I'm not that girl. I tried to be. I tried for you. But I can't." She sobbed. The heartbreaking expression on his face was making her heart hurt twice as bad it was already hurting. She wished she could take his pain away, but it wasn't possible. At least she wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore. She had done the right thing. She had been honest with him. Letting him go, wasn't easy for her. Even if she wasn't in love with him anymore, after three years, she had gotten used to him. He had became a big part of her life and she knew that after this conversation he wouldn't be around anymore. "I'm sorry that I failed you." She cried. "It's all my fault."

"Please, stop this." He cut her off. "It's too damn hard. I can't hear it." He said and his head fell on his hands. She could swear that she saw tears in his eyes.

"You _need _to hear it." She took his face. He was crying. She wiped away his tears and placed her hand on his cheek stroking it gently. "I'm letting you go, because I love you and you're still my friend." She was looking inside his eyes because she wanted to make him understand that she decided this out of love for him and not because she meant to hurt him. "Take care of yourself." Another tear fell from her eye. She looked his face for one last time and then got up and left the house quickly. She didn't look back.

* * *

"Dude, you're out of your mind!" Alaric yelled. "You let Katherine sneak into your life again? I've tried my best to stay out of it, but she's here every night drinking shots with you, and you let her." Damon was staring at him, waiting for him to finish his speech.

"Katherine can't hurt me, because I don't have feelings for her anymore. So I'm just enjoying her company." Damon defended himself.

"Katherine isn't here for no reason! Mark my words." He warned his friend.

"Consider them marked." He sarcastically and Alaric rolled his eyes.

"You know what? Do whatever you want." He finally gave up.

"I'll be careful Ric! Okay?"

"Let me guess. He didn't listen." Rose had just gotten inside the bar and could already tell what was going on. She knew them too well.

"Are you two playing my parents now?" Damon couldn't believe this.

"When you can't think straight on your own, then yes! We are." She yelled at him. "We are your friends Damon. Your family. And we love you. If _we _don't warn you, then who will?"

"Thank you for your warnings. I'll keep them in mind." He yelled back. "Anything else?" He asked ironically and Alaric and Rose both gave him a disaproving look. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go to my house. Keeping the bar all alone for the entire evening was exhausting and my back is killing me." He stood up from the stool chair he was sitting on and got out of the bar.

He wanted to tell them the truth. But if they knew that he had invited Katherine to his house, they would get the wrong idea and they would start lecturing him. But the past few days he felt good every time he had hanged out with her. Katherine was a fun person to be around and she was taking his mind off of things. He was starting to see her as a friend, even though he thought that this would never be possible when she had first suggested it. He was still emotionally detatched from her and that was the only reason he wasn't afraid of getting hurt by her again.

He was at his house in no time, and there she was, waiting for him on his porch.

"It was about time." She said with a devilish smile on her face.

"Oh I bet you just got here." He smirked.

"Well, you know me too well." _Well, at least better than some people. _She added in her head.

"Let's get inside." He opened the door and let her in.

They spent the entire night drinking and catching up. It was fun, but Damon's mind was on Elena again. It was at these hours that he felt the need to call her. He just wanted to hear her voice and ask her if she's okay, and then he'd hung up if that would be what she wanted. He missed her and his distraction wasn't working. He thought that Katherine would make him forget about Elena for a few hours, but even her hilarious stories couldn't make him laugh with his heart. He felt like a part of his heart was missing, and he knew exactly where that part was...it was with _her._

"Your mind is somewhere far away." Katherine stated and got him by surprise.

"No, I'm just tired. It's been an awful day at work." He informed her.

"Well I'm gonna go then. You obviously need to rest. But before I go, one shot for the road." She smiled. Damon and her tried to reach the bottle of bourbon at the same time. As a result the bottle fell and the liquor got all over Katherine's shirt.

"Oh shit!" Damon said. "I'm so sorry." He quickly brought the bottle back into a standing position and went to the kitchen to bring Katherine a kitchen towel.

"It's okay." She said when he gave it to her. "I hated that shirt." She chuckled.

"Why don't you go in my room and change? You can take one of my shirts. They're in the third drawer on the left." He informed her.

"No, it's okay. It's not a big deal." She tried to decline his offer.

"I insist." He said.

"Fine." She gave up and made her way to his bedroom and closed the door behind her.

She looked around her and instead of heading to his drawer, she took a look at his nightstand. While they were together he always had a picture of them standing there. It was gone now. She opened the little drawer of the small furniture and was surprised that she didn't find condoms. _So he's not with someone else and he also doesn't have sex with anyone. This is not very Damon-like. _There was something inside the drawer though. A piece of paper with black calligraphic letters on it. She quickly got it out of there and started reading it. When she finished it, she quickly put it back where she found it. Everything was starting to make sense. Maybe that was the reason why Damon was acting so weird. He had just found out who his father was. Guiseppe Salvatore. She had heard the name before thanks to her father. If she was right about who she thought Guiseppe Salvatore was, then maybe she would get back the life she once had. She knew that from that moment she needed to be even more smart and careful. _Katherine Pierce is back. _A devilish smile was on her face.

* * *

"Elena you've been crying for hours. I can't see you like this. It breaks my heart." Caroline said and her friend another tissue.

"I'm sorry." She said between sobs. "I can't go home. If my mother sees me like that, she will start worrying."

"It's okay. I don't want you to leave. Just try to calm down, please." She begged.

"Okay." She said and started taking deep breaths in order to stop crying.

"Good! That's good." Caroline said and started taking deep breaths too in order to show her friend that she was doing it right. "Now that you're calmer. Please understand that Tom loves you and deep down he knows that everything you did was for his own good as well. He might be mad now, but he will forgive you. He's a good person. He just needs to take his distance for little while. You didn't lose him forever." She stroked Elena's back.

"And what about Damon?" Elena asked. She felt like akid waiting for her mother to explain to her something that she didn't understand.

"Now that you broke up with Tom, you can call him or even go to Denver and see him. You two really need to talk."

"I know we do. But what makes you think that he will want to see me? I hurt him." She started crying again.

"Yes but you didn't mean to! And Damon was asking too much from you. He knew you couldn't make a decision like this, without thinking about it first. To be honest, the problem with you two is that you had bad timing." She went silent. "But I have a good feeling abut this. You'll see that in the end you'll be together. You're soulmates. I mean who finds her long lost best friend after seventeen years, only to fall madly in love with him?" Elena couldn't help but smile at the fact that Caroline was describing all this in a dreamy tone.

"I hope that you're right, because I can't lose Damon. I need him in my life."

"You won't lose him. Trust me." She gave Elena a sweet smile. "What you need to do now, is to keep you distance from the boy drama for a few days and then, when you're ready, call Damon. He'll be so happy to hear you. You've been dodging his calls for a week."

"I know. And it took everything I got to not answer the phone. It's just that, ever since she kissed me our relationship became more than friendship. And I was still with Tom. Even by talking to Damon, I felt like I was cheating on him." Caroline shook her head.

"But now you don't need to worry about any of this. You're free Elena. You can make new decisions, plans, you can be with whoever you want. You can be happy. _Really _happy. And I haven't seen you happy in years." The girl took Elena's hand inside her own. "Everything will change for the better. You'll see."

* * *

"I'm home." Katherine shouted.

"Hey." Thered-head woman said while working with her laptop. "Why did it take so long to get back?" She asked.

"Sage, I think that I might have found the answer to all my problems." Katherine said and sat on the couch with her.

"Your problems can't be solved sweetie. You're homeless and you have no money." She looked at her for the first time.

"Just hear me out!" Katherine said. She looked excited.

"Okay fine. Tell me." Sage rolled her eyes.

"I was in Damon's room earlier and I found a letter. His mother must have asked someone to give it to him if she died. And in that letter she revealed who's Damon's father." She paused for a second. "Does the name Guiseppe Salvatore ring a bell?" Sage's eyes got wider.

"Salvatore? As the one who knew your father? The one with the publishing house?" Katherine nodded and a smile spread on her face.

"Exactly." She said.

"And how does this solve your problems?" Sage was confused.

"I have a plan of course." Katherine said like it was the most natural thing in the wrold and a devilish smile appeared on Sage's face.

"Of course you do." They both laughed.

"My plan has some flaws though. But I'm working on it. It needs to be good if I want it to work."

"Well then, let me help you make it perfect." Sage winked.

They spent the rest of the night thinking everything through and in the end, they really did it. They had the _perfect plan._

* * *

**So that was the 10th Chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I'm sorry if it contains a lot of mistakes, I didn't have the time to check it properly before posting it. Elena broke up with Tom. I tried to make it emotional, because they're two people who really care about eachother...they just didn't work out as lovers. They were always meant to be friends I think. So how did you feel about it? Also I know that some of you were mad at Elena for not anwering Damon's calls and not just saying how she really felt, but she just needed some time to think about everything that happened. She needed to make her decision, and she stayed away from Damon and away from Tom in order to do it. I hope that this chapter helped you understand her point of view all better. And then there's Katherine. Seems like Alaric and Rose were right about her. She was up to no good from the beginning, but now she has even bigger plans ahead. Btw she's not aware of Elena. She has no idea that Damon is in love with someone else. We'll see how this will work out for her. Anyway, be nice and review. You can also find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon) and I'll happily answer any questions you might have and even give you some spoilers if you want to. Love you all. xxx**


	11. Wicked Game

**Chapter 11, it's been a long journey. I can't thank you enough for your reviews, as I said before they mean the world and they make me want to finish this story. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

He woke up feeling nervous. The calendar on his fridge was a reminder of what day it was, but it wasn't like he didn't know already. It had been one week since his chat with Rose, which meant that it was his final day of waiting. He had promised his friend that there would be a deadline to all this. He had promised that if she didn't give him a call - which she hadn't so far - he'd forget about her and move on with his life. He had prayed at least ten times, since the moment he got out of bed. He never was the one to believe in God. But he found himself praying that she would call, and he didn't care if she'd call him with good news or bad news. He only needed to hear her voice.

However, if she wouldn't call, then he'd have to keep his promise. But how was he supposed to do that? He wouldn't suddenly forget abut her. He wouldn't stop being in love her. How was this supposed to work, if his feelings weren't going to go anywhere? Damon felt desperate while thinking about all this. It was the ring of his door bell that brought him back to earth. He wasn't expecting anyone. _What if...? _He didn't finish the thought, but he felt the hope overwhelming him. Maybe his prayers have been heeded. Ηis heart drummed inside his chest with every step he took towards the door. When he reached it, he took a deep breath before opening it and...disappointment.

"Katherine." He said and forced a smile on his face. She was standing there holding a little paper bag. "What are you doing here?" He asked confused.

"I'm sorry I came unannounced." She started. "I was in the neighbourhood. I was jogging." Damon took a better look at her. She was wearing sweat pants and an athletic top. "I wanted to give you back your shirt." She extended her hand and gave him the bag she was carying. "Thank you for lending it to me." She smiled.

"No problem." Damon smiled back and just stood there awkwardly for a second. "Uh, I'm sorry. Do you wanna come inside?" He finally asked.

"Uhm, I don't wanna bother you." She said but didn't do any move to leave.

"You don't. Come in." He said and let her inside. "Can I bring you anything?" He asked as they got in the living room.

"Water." Katherine said. "And can I use the bathroom?" She asked him politely.

"Yes of course."

Katherine left a pack of papers on the coffee table near his couch and then made her way to his bathroom. Damon brought the glass of water and sat on the couch. While waiting for her, Katherine's papers got his attention. He was sure his eye caught the name _Salvatore _somewhere. He didn't waste any time and he took a closer look. As he started reading he realized that there were information about his father's publishing house. _What does Katherine have to do with my father? _He stopped to think about it, but it didn't make any sense to him. But then again he knew that she had gotten married to a very wealthy man after leaving him, so maybe that was how she had asociates like his father. People like him must have been in her circles.

"It's not right to stick your nose into other people's business you know." He heard her voice saying and he put the papers back to where he found them as a reflect.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He said awkwardly. He had just been caught and he felt bad about it.

"It's okay." She chuckled. "You can look at them."

"Salvatore Publishing House? Are you writing a book or something?" He was phishing for information.

"Sage is." Katherine said and sat next to him. "She asked me to find publishing houses for her. I printed these out earlier." She pointed at the papers and took a sip of the water he had brought her.

"But Sage isn't a writer as far as I know. She's a gynechologist." He tried to smile, but he was sure that it looked too fake. She didn't seem to pay attention though.

"I know, but writing is her hobby." Katherine informed him. "So, why don't you help me decide which publishing house I should recommend to her?"

"I don't know much about this stuff."

"Oh come on. Let's just see which one is the most successful. You can keep looking at the one you were looking before and I'll take a look at the Lockwood and the Michaelson publishing houses." She smiled and took half the papers and let the rest to him. Damon was nervous about this. Ever since he got back, he had tried to ignore the fact that he had to try and meet his father. He just didn't feel ready yet. Every time he was thinking about it he felt sick. Even if he met his father he didn't know what he was supposed to say to him. He didn't know where to begin with all these. He didn't know if he should be polite or just start accusing him. The confusion in his head seemed to not have an end.

"I got the Salvatore one." He stated. "I've heard about it. It's the most successful one, you don't have to look at the rest." He told her and got the papers away from her.

"How do you know?" She asked and tried to get the papers back from him, but he didn't let her.

"I had a conversation with a client at ther bar. He was once working for them and he told me so." He quickly lied. He couldn't tell her that he had done an entire research about Guiseppe Salavtore and that was how he knew, because he would also have to explain why he did that research.

"Oookay then." She looked confused and worried. "You look pale. Are you alright?"

"Why don't we take a walk?" He dicided to not answer to her question. He wasn't feeling well, it was true. He needed to clear his head.

"You're acting weird." She stated. "But, yeah we could take a walk I guess."

"Great. Let me get my jacket." He stood up and went to his bedroom.

Katherine quickly gathered her papers. A huge smile was on her face. _Everything was going according to plan. _

* * *

"Elena, can I come in?" She heard her mother's voice.

"Yes." She said and went to open the door for her mother and helped her inside her room.

"I just wanted to know how you're doing." She said once Elena was settled back on her bed. "We didn't really talk the past few days. I thought that you needed some space."

"I did." Elena sighed. "I needed some time to think. Everything happened so quickly."

"I know sweetie. But it was time for this to happen." Elena was shocked by what she had just heard coming out of her mother's mouth.

"What do you mean?" She was confused. Did her mother really think there was an expiration date in her relationship with Tom?

"I'm talking about the break-up." She looked Elena in the eye. "You and Tom were great friends. But you were never really in love with him. Damon on the other hand...it happened to you before you even knew it." She couldn't help but smile. Elena's expression, made that smile get even wider.

"How do you know about Damon?" She asked quickly.

"I'm your mother. I know everything." That was her usual answer. "I knew you had feelings for him and I can tell that you also acted on those feelings."

"Mom stop. I'm still so ashamed that this happened while I was still with Tom." She burried her face between her hands.

"Elena, there's no need to be ashamed. There _would _come a day that you would fall in love with someone else, since you weren't in love with the person you were with. Your only mistake was that you couldn't separate love from friendship. Your mistake was being in a relationship with Tom in order to feel safe. Acting on your feelings for Damon was the most right thing you have ever done." She paused for a second. "I'm so glad you did. You were true to yourself and I'm proud of you."

"I broke Tom's heart." She threw back at her.

"One day, you would break his heart anyway. It's a good thing it happened _before _you got married to him." She tried to convince her.

"I don't know what to do anymore. Everything's changed." A tear coursed down her cheek.

"I know it's hard. New beginning always are...but why don't you start by talking to Damon? I think he was hurt when he left."

"I know he was. He's been calling, but I wasn't ready to talk to him and I was still with Tom." She informed her mother.

"But now you're not. You can call him and you don't have to feel guilty about it." She gave her daughter another sweet smile.

"What if he hates me?" Her voice broke.

"Damon? Hate _you_? He loves you." Her mother's words clicked something inside her head. She had heard them before..._"Bye sweetie...And remember one thing. No matter what a hard time he gives you sometimes and no matter how cocky he is, **he loves you**. Anyone can see that from miles away." _She had been too drunk to realize what Bree had told her and the next morning she could't recall this and Damon didn't mention it of course. Remembering, woke the butterflies inside her stomach and made her eyes open wide. Her lips were almost ready to form a smile, but she held it back.

"Ho...How do you know?" She asked breathless. Her mother _did _know things and she was right most of the time. The possibility that she might be right on this one made her heart beat faster. She had never been more desperate for a person's love in her entire life. She didn't just want and hope for Damon to love her...it was like she needed it. He was the only one who could copliment her in such a perfect way, even though he was far from being a perfect person.

"Because I've seen the way he's looking at you when you're not looking." She could feel her daughter's happiness. She could see how important this information was to her.

Elena only knew one thing. She wanted to see him. In that moment she wanted it more than anything in the world. She had never been the person who would make decisions in a flash. _But in that moment_...she did.

"Would you mind if I got out of town for a couple of days?" She asked her mother, still trying to hide her smile.

"You're free Elena, be spontaneous! Live your life! Why would you ask for permision?" Her mother basically yelled.

"Okay then. I'm leaving tomorrow." Elena announced decisevely. Caroline _was_ right...everything would fall into place in the end. What Elena didn't know was that they were far away from the end.

* * *

**1 day later.**

"I'm worried Ric." Rose said while she was drying out the glasses of the bar that she had just washed. "We shouldn't have let him leave with Katherine last night. They were drunk."

"I know! But you heard him! He almost got into a fight with us because we pointed out that he should be careful! If he wants to trust Katherine, let him. I'm done with this shit." Alaric was pissed. He was done with Damon's state. A week earlier he was ready to help him get through this, but ever since Katherine got in the game, it seemed like everything he said was wrong while everythign she said somehow made sense to him and took his mind off of things. He wasn't jealous of course. The only thing he wanted was for Damon to find himself again, but he had this bad feeling that he just couldn't shake. He just knew that Katherine was up to something, and Rose knew it too. But their idiot best friend couldn't see it, which caused them to argue a lot.

"I just have this bad feeling, and I can't stop thinking about it." She said like she felt some discomfort.

"Focus on something else then." He said and continued sweeping the floor behind the bar. He knew how she felt, because he felt the same even though he was trying to ignore it.

"Hello." They heard a voice saying. They knew who it was before they even got to look at her.

"Elena!" Rose said and basically jumped from the shock. "What are you doing here? Damon has been calling you!" Elena thought it was legit that Damon had told them everything that happened. What she didn't know was how they felt about it and she was worried. _What if they hate me?_

"I know. And I've been a horrible friend for not picking up, but I'll explain everything to him."She explained herself with an apologetic look and sighed.

"_Friend_?" Alaric said and wiggled his brows. "I think that after everything that happened between you two, the word 'friend' doesn't really defy him." Rose chuckled at his comment and Elena blushed. She was relived though that they were still friendly with her.

"Leave her alone Ric!" Rose tried to be serious while saying this.

"It's okay. I guess he's right. Me and Damon...it's complicated." Α sigh escaped her lips. "How is he?" Her eyes were full of emotion and were giving away her feelings for Damon. Everyone who was not blind could see that she was melting for him.

"Not good Elena. Ever since he came back from Mystic Falls, he's not himself." Alaric informed her and Elena's gaze fell on the floor. It was painful to hear that she had hurt him.

"I know that you guys care about him." She looked inside their eyes. "And I know I screwed up. But you need to know that I'm really sorry about everything, and I want to make things right. And I don't want to hurt him again." Alaric and Rose could see how honest and true her words were.

"We know honey." Rose said and approached her. "It's easy to tell when a person has good intentions. And from the moment you got inside this bar, we knew you were a good a person. And I hope he forgives you." She gave Elena a smile. "And know that no matter what he decides to do, you're still going to be a good friend and you'll always be welcome here."

"Thank you." Elena said and smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. Before she knew what was happening Rose put her arms around Elena and closed her into a strong hug.

"Everything will be fine. You'll see." She told her while they were still embracing eachother.

_Will it?_

* * *

He opened his eyes and knew that something was wrong. His head was heavy and it hurt like he had been breaking through brick walls with it. He tried to focus on a certain spot at the ceiling of his room, hoping that his vision would soon go back to normal. However, there were other things that were unusual, like the fact that he felt the weight of someone on his chest. _The weight of someone else? _He forced himself to look down. What he found there, was a head full of long brown curles and he automatically knew to who they belonged. _Katherine._ He tried to figure out what their situation was, but the fact that he could feel his bare skin touching hers beneath the covers, explained a lot. What he couldn't explain though, was_ how_ he got himself in this situation. Everything about the previous night was a blur. The only thing he remembered was getting drunk after Elena didn't call him or text him. He could also remember leaving the bar with Katherine and getting home, only to drink more. And then that was it. Blank.

He looked down at her. She was still sleeping. Once, the sight of her sleeping, was able to make him smile. But this was a long time ago. Now she was just another girl, just like the ones he spent his night with and then never saw again. The problem was, that he _would _see her again. They were in the middle of building a friendship. Not that he really cared, but it was a way to take his mind off of everythign that happened with Elena. He was trying so hard to get her out of his head, but she was everywhere. Every thought he made, was followed by one related to her. He had promised himself that he would forget about her. But how could he do that? How was he supposed to erase the most beautiful person he had ever met from his heart and mind? _She chose him. _A selfish voice in his head replied, and that was all he needed to come back to reality. He wouldn't waste another minute thinking about her. He sighed and pushed the thoughts away from his head.

The movement of his chest made Katherine open her eyes slowly. Damon's heart drummed inside his chest. He didn't know how to handle this and he sure as hell didn't want her to take everything that happened in the wrong way. He wasn't interested in her in this way. Of course she was an attractive woman and Damon couldn't deny that, but he couldn't exactly forget everything that had happened in the relationship they once had. She had crushed him.

She slowly looked up at him and her eyes opened widely as the shock spread in all of her characteristics and she jumped away from him as she let a small scream escape her lips.

"Damon? What happened?" She basically yelled, while she was trying to get more of her skin covered with the sheets of the bed.

"Katherine...I..." He begun but he stopped his sentence. He didn't really know what to say. He didn't exactly endeavored for all this to happen. Hell, he didn't even remember _how _this happened.

"Oh my God!" She run her hand through her hair. "I can't believe this actually happened." She was looking anywhere but him, clearly embarassed.

"Yeah, I'm a little bit shocked too." He finally said.

"This is awkward." She stated and took a deep breath. "Look...we were drunk, I mean...I understand that you obviously didn't know what you were doing..."

"Yeah..we've...had too much of alcohol last night." He closed his eyes for a second. His head was still hurting.

"You know what?" The tone of her voice wasn't so awkward anymore. "This actually doesn't have to be awkward. We've had sex before." She paused for a second to check his reaction. His eyes were still closed. "And maybe now that we're friends, the sex probably came naturally." That made him open his eyes. He knew her and he knew that there was more behind her words. Actually there was an offer on the table. She was basically saying that maybe the status of their friendship could be upgraded to a _friends with benefits _one. The first thing he thought was to decline politely. He pushed himself to think of everything that went wrong the last time he was with Katherine. However, a 'friends with benefits' kind of relationship would be different. It would be a relationship with no feelings and no responsibilities. That meant _just sex. _And sex was a department that he and Katherine had excelled at, in the past. He didn't have anything to lose. Actually a fresh start and a lose agreement like this might help him forget about the only brunette he actually cared about. That brunette was in Mystic Falls preparing to get married to another guy and he was in need of a distraction...someone who would keep him occupied and prevent him from thinking about her too much. A few days earlier he would have decided against of all this. But Elena was no show again the previous night. He had lost all hope.

He did his best to smirk. If he wanted to make her flat out admit what she wanted, he would have to play dirty.

"So you're saying, that having sex with me is natural to you?" He asked her and looked at he seducively.

"Well...let's just say that I had one or two good memories from when we...you know." She said awkwardly.

"So you're saying that every time we get drunk, this is what will follow..." He continued and wiggled his brows.

"It could, but we'll be careful from now on, because you obviously don't want it." She looked embarassed.

"And how are you so sure that I don't?" He asked her, with the smirk never leaving his face.

"Because you wouldn't Damon, that's..." She paused and took a look at him. "You would?" She finally asked and bit her lip.

"I don't know...all I'm saying is...that if it comes naturally..then we should probably let it happen. What do you think?"

"But Damon we're trying to build friendship. Wouldn't this make it something more?"

"Look, we don't have feelings for eachother. It's just sex. We can still be friends." He wanted to be clear about his intentions. "So? What do you think?"

"Let me think about it." She said and got up from the bed.

Damon let his head fall back on his pillow and smiled confidently.

"You have a day to think about it Miss Pierce." He decided that acting confidently was the best way to have the control of all this.

_Distraction found._

* * *

"Finally!" Ric yelled at Rose who was approaching him quickly.

"I'm sorry! I was showing Elena around." She shrugged.

"Your house only has three rooms." He said as a matter of factly.

"I helped her make herself comfortable." Alaric rolled his eyes.

"I still don't understand why you're the one hosting her and not Damon."

"Because I couldn't just send her to Damon. That idiot left with Katherine and he was drunk. We wouldn't want Elena to knock at his door and see Katherine opening it covered with sheets, would we?" She raised her brows.

"No we wouldn't. But why are you so sure that he had sex with her?"

"Because that bitch is back in his life for a reason and he's too dumb to see it. And I'm sure that if she's trying to win him back, she definetely took advantage of his state last night." Rose explained angrily.

"Okay, even if Damon really had sex with her last night, why is it a bad thing if Elena finds out? Isn't she ready to marry another guy anyway?" His confusion was clear.

"Yeah...about that." She paused and got closer to him. "We talked while we were at my house. She said she broke up with him." Alaric's expression started to change from calm to worried.

"Oh shit!" He said when he understood where Rose was going with this. "Then Damon better didn't sleep with Katherine." He stoped to think for a second. "Look, stay here and I'll go to see him. If Elena comes back here, don't let her go near his house yet." He said and started walking out of the bar before Rose could react.

* * *

He walked to Damon's house as fast as he could. Once he was standing outside, he started knocking at his door louder than it was nescesary for Damon to hear. Moments later Damon came to open it. He was only wearing a towel, which was hanging low from his hips and he had a smirk on his face.

"Oh shit! You did have sex with her. Didn't you?" Alaric looked at him with a _please-tell-me-you-didn't_ look on his face.

"Oh well..." Damon wiggled his brows. He was trying to be his old self. His Elena-less self. When he was all about flirting and dirty jokes.

"YOU IDIOT!" Alaric yelled and got in the house. "Come here and sit down!" He said as he walked furiously towards the couch.

"Look if you're here to tell me that Katherine has an evil plan, I'm gonna kick your ass out of my house. I'm done listening to this! I'm an adult and I can make my own choices! You and Rose have no say in this." He yelled back.

"IDIOT!" Alaric said again even louder. "I'm not here to tell you what to do with your life. I'm here because I care about you! So shut up and start answering to my questions!" Damon was starting to worry. _What had gotten into him? _He knew that he didn't like Katherine, but he had never acted like this before. "You and Katherine got even more drunk and slept together. Right?"

"Well yeah. Not that I remember any of it...but yeah." He was curious to see where his friend was going with this.

"Of course you don't." Alaric sighed and continued. "And I'm sure that today, you talked about it with her. Right?"

"Well yeah...I mean we had to."

"And what did you decide to do with her?" Alaric swallowed hard.

"That look on your face scares the hell out of me by the way. But...we're not exactly together. So don't worry."

"Damon you have to be specific." Alaric pushed him.

"Let's say we're friends with benefits." Damon admitted finally.

"So you're saying that whatever happened last night, will be repeated and it's _your_ choice."

"Probably." He said dryly.

"And what about Elena?" Alaric finally asked and saw Damon's calm expression change. "You suddenly forgot about her?"

"I'm getting there." He lied. "I don't wanna talk about her anymore Ric. She's out there living her life. Hell, she doesn't even care to call me. Why should I care about her? Why should I wait for her?" He was trying to control the shake of his voice, but it was impossible.

"Damon, did you start this thing with Katherine because you really like her and have feelings for her...or did you do it in order to forget about Elena?" Alaric asked with a calm and low voice. He looked inside Damon's eyes. He wanted to make his friend see that he could tell him anything and he would understand. Damon didn't respond though. He looked away and stayed quiet. "Damon I'm not here to lecture you. I just needed to know the truth before I tell you something that will probably change the way you see things now."

"What are you talking about?" Damon couldn't understand.

"Damon...she's here." Damon's eyes opened widely. "Elena is here." He said again and Damon felt his heart trying to come out of his chest. He felt a thousand things all at once. The strongest one was anger. He was angry with her for not calling him, he was angry that she made him wait and suddenly she was back, he was angry because he had opened up to her and she broke him.

"Where is she?" He whispered.

* * *

**So that was it! Damon slept with Katherine and decided that a little bit more sex with her wouldn't hurt, Elena is back and Rose and Alaric are trying to help. They don't know what Elena's reaction will be if she finds out that Damon slept with the woman he was in love with in the past, and they sure as hell don't want her to find out in a dramatic way which will conclude to misunderstandings and that's why Alaric went to see Damon first. We'll see how Damon handles everything in the next chapter. Prepare for some drama guys, because he's really hurt. I know that some of you didn't like Elena in the previous chapters, but I promise that from now on she will be a queen. Also I'm sorry that the update was a little late, but I'm in the middle of my final exams and writing isn't at my priorities right now. The next update will be after the 29th of this month. Anyway, please leave a review and let me know how you felt about everything. You can also find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon). I will be very happy to talk with you about the fanfic, answer to any questions you might have or even give you some spoilers. Love you all. xoxo**


	12. Bloodstream

**I know I said I'd post only after my exams would be over(aka at the 29th) but I got a little bit sick of studying today and I started writing. First of all I wanted to thank you for supporting this story. It reached 100 followers and it's something that I thought would never happen...so...THANK YOU! So last chapter was pretty shocking to most of you and I get it, but try to be patient, because every obstacle has a bigger purpose. In this chapter our story takes a road that most of you didn't see coming. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Also leave a review, it's always nice to read your thoughts on the characters and the plot. **

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It had been hours since Rose had left. It was getting dark outside. Elena had so many questions that Rose kept on dudging. For example, she couldn't understand why she was at Rose's house from the first place. Why wasn't she knocking at Damon's door? Why didn't they let her go straight to him? Elena knew that Damon was angr and that Rose and Alaric were probably worried about his reaction, but she would face him sooner or later anyway. _Something else is going on. _The thought made her stomach swirl. _What if something bad happened to him? _She immediately pushed the thought away. Rose would have told herif something really bad had happened. But if everything was just fine, why couldn't she shake that bad feeling she was getting in her guts? And all this waiting? What was it for? She couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something. She needed to see Damon.

The moment she was about to leave the house, she heard someone unlocking the front door and walking inside. The footsteps were heavy, which made her think that it wasn't Rose. Her heart was beating so fast and strong that she thought it would explode at any moment. _It has to be him! _Seconds later, the person who had caused all these noises was standing in front of her, in Rose's living room. But instead of blue eyes, he had brown ones. And in the place of the raven black hair, there were blonde. He was wearing pleaded jeans, that were frayed in the knees. On the top he was wearing simpled black t-shirt. If his appearance could say anything about him, that would be that he was dangerous.

Elena took in the image of him more carefuly. The bulbs of his eyes were red and his hair were messy and oily. There was something weird about his gaze. He seemed like he was searching for something but couldn't focus on anything. She wondered if he even knew what he was doing there. _Drug addict. _She concluded in her head after seeing him slurping his nose. He finally fixed his eyes on her and made her blood freeze in her veins. Even thought she felt dizzy from the intencity of her fear, she forced her body to move and she took a step back. The guy didn't even seem to notice her movement, but he started walking closer to her until he was standing directly in front of her.

"Rose." He said with a husky voice. He looked calm, but that didn't make Elena's panic go away, even the slightest bit.

"A..are you searching for Rose?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"Who are you? You weren't one of her friends..." His voice was giving away a hint of insanity. "What's your name?" He asked and examined her from head to toe.

"I..I'm Elena." She tried to stay still as he kept on looking at her. "Is there any way I can help you?" She forced herself to say.

"Elena." He said her name like he was trying it out, just to see how it would sound, coming out of his mouth. "Elena." He repeated again a little bit louder. "You see Elena, Rose thinks we're done, but we're not." He had definitely took his dose, not long ago. Elena thought of taking another step back, but she didn't want to do anything that would upset him. He clearly wasn't at his right mind. But what did Rose had to do with that guy? That's what she couldn't bring herself to understand. "You seem to be afraid, Elena." He let a laugh escape his mouth. "But I'm only here for Rose. _She _should be afraid." He finally started moving away from her and Elena stopped holding her breath. She had to do something, she needed to warn Rose and call the police.

"What's your name?" Elena suddenly asked.

"Jack." He said and collapsed on the couch.

Elena moved backwards until her back met a wall. Her phone was inside the back pocket of her jeans and she needed to pull it out without him noticing, but how would she do that, when he was sitting right across her with his eyes on her? Her phone wasn't an option. But she had to do something.

"Just to be clear, Elena. If you try anything, I will get really mad." He smiled like he had just told her the nicest thing in the world. The moment he finished his sentence, without a second thought Elena did the only thing that the situation was allowing her to. She ran. She let the living room behind her and was almost at the door when the sound of a gunfire echoed through her ears and scared her to death which caused her fall on her knees. In a matter of seconds Jack was standing in front of her with a gun pointing at her. She had never been so scared for her life before.

"Now" He started with a low voice. "start walking back to the living room." Elena was shaking. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to stand up. It took a lot of will and every bit of strength she had, for her to follow his order and go back at the room they were before. "Now, Elena. Sit on the couch." The threat of the gun was still there. "You see, I gave you a chance. I didn't want to use this." He looked down at the hand that was holding the weapon with. "But you left me with no other choice." His smile was scaring Elena to death.

"Why are you doing this?" The fear in her voice made it hard even for her to recognize it.

"Because that bitch has to pay." He said and sat on the floor with his back touching the wall behind him.

"Listen, I don't know what happened between you and Rose, but you don't have to do this." Since she couldn't escape or warn Rose maybe she could convince him to stop whatever he was up to.

"You're right." He said, reviving Elena's hope. "I don't _have_ to do this." He continued and Elena hang from his every word wishing he would leave the house and let her and Rose alone. "I _want _to do this." And with these words every hope sank again.

At the same moment Elena and Jack heard the front door being unlocked. Elena heard the footsteps in the hallway and knew that they were Rose's. Jack was up in a second, with the gun still in his hand. Elena _had _to do something fast.

"ROSE RUN!" She screamed and got up from the couch. The next thing she felt was Jack's hand landing on her face and making her lose her balance until she collapsed bak on the couch.

Rose walked in. Fear took over her as she saw the man who was in her house. Memories that she had tried to burry started to unravel inside her head.

"Jack." Her voice was only a whisper. "What are you doing here? How did you get inside?" He seemed to enjoy how scared she looked.

"That's a funny question, Rose." He chuckled. "I want you to come with me again." He paused for a second. "Don't you remember how good we were together?" He walked closer to her.

"I remember how we were together. And there was no good in there Jack." She shot back at him.

"Are these _your _words, or Damon and Alaric's?"

"Rinse your mouth before talking about Damon and Alaric." She yelled. Elena had never seen Rose like this before. Couldn't she see the gun Jack was holding? Wasn't she scared? "They saved me."

"And condemned _me_!" He yelled back at her. "I had no one else."

"Stop blaming Damon, Alaric or anyone else. Blame this on yourself! I tried to help you. I put you in rehab. But you didn't want to stop the drugs. You even tried to convince me to start doing drugs too! _You _are the reason that I left you! YOU!" She was shouting and her face had turned red.

"You should have chosen me. You should have stayed." He whispered. "But this time you don't get to make a decision. This time you'll come with me. That's why I'm here."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Her words didn't seem to touch him at all.

"Oh that's a shame." He started walking towards the couch where Elena was sitting. Once he reached it he grabbed her by her arm and forced her to stand up.

"Don't touch her!" Anger was taking over her now.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" He yelled and pointed the gun to Elena.

"Jack please, don't do this. She has nothing to do with what happened between us." She tried to talk him out of it.

"You're right." He said. "Come with me and I won't hurt her."

"Rose no!" Elena said and Jack turned her body towards his and slapped her on her face, using more force than the previous time. Elena almost lost her balance again, but managed to stay on her feet. This time there was evidence that he had hit her. Her lip was bleeding.

"I didn't give you permission to talk!" Jack said looking at her.

"I'll come with you." Rose suddenly said. "Just let her go, and I'll follow you." She repeated.

"You're not going anywhere." They heard the voice of someone else coming from the hallway. A voice that was familiar to both Rose and Elena.

"Damon!" Jack said with excitement and a huge smile on his face. "Long time no see."

"You look good Jack." He said sarcastically. His gaze fell at Elena who was already looking at him.

"Oh I see..." Jack suddenly said after studying the way Damon was looking at Elena. "_That's_ why I didn't know her. She's not Rose's friend. She's yours." He laughed like what he had just said was hilarious. Damon didn't say anything, but his panic was obvious. "Does it hurt you Damon? To see her like this?" Damon didn't answer, he just kept on looking at Elena with concern. "I take that as a yes." He paused for a second. "Now, Rose will come with me or I'll just...kill your little friend."

"Damon, that decision is mine. I'll go with him." Rose eyed Damon.

"You see how easy it was? These words should have came out of your mouth a few years ago." Jack said and his gun stopped pointing at Elena.

"You're sick." Damon shot at him with disgust painted all over his face.

Everything else happened in a matter of seconds. Jack ran towards Damon and punched him in the face. Damon recovered quickly and got hold of the hand that Jack was holding his gun with and with his other hand he punched him in the face.

"RUN!" He shouted to both Elena and Rose.

"Damon no!" Elena said and kept on looking at him.

"ROSE TAKE HER AND GO! NOW!" He said as he struggled to hold Jack's hand in order fr the gun to be pointing at the ceiling.

"Elena come on! We have to go!" Rose didn't wait for Elena to move. She grabbed her and started pushing her out of the house. Once they were outside they heard a gunfire. Elena's heart stopped for a second. _What if? No no no ir can't be! _The next thing she saw were police cars stopping in front of the house. The caps surrounded the place in a matter of seconds and some of them went inside. Elena felt dizzy. An hour before, she was sitting in Rose's living room and her only concern was Damon's reaction. Now there she was, at Rose's porch waiting for someone to tell her that Damon was okay...or even alive. Her knees gave up and she fell on the cold ground. Tears started rolling down her face as the pain took over her.

"Elena!" Rose said and knelt beside her. "Shhh...it's gonna be okay." She comforted her but tears started escaping her eyes too. "You'll see. He'll be fine."

"Rose!" They heard Alaric's voice. He came to stand in front of them. By his side there was a brunette young woman that Elena didn't recognize, but she didn't pay attention. "What happened? Are you all okay? Damon called me and told me that if I didn't hear from him in the next five minutes I should call the police at your place."

"Jack was at my house." Rose infirmed him.

"Where is he now?" He was worried. "And where's Damon?"

Rose just looked at him and didn't say anything. Alaric's eyes opened wide and the brunette that had came with him had the same reaction. Elena could see and hear everything that was going on around her, but everything felt sureal. It was like she wasn't the one living this. Alaric went to talk to one of the police men.

"Rose are you okay?" The girl that had arrived with Alaric asked.

"Yes Katherine. Thank you." She said coldly.

"And you?" Katherine asked Elena.

"Can't you see she's not okay?" Rose yelled at her.

"I was just-" Katherine started.

"I don't care Katherine. Just go. You're not helping here." Rose said, not caring if she was rough.

"I'm here for Damon. I'm not gonna leave until I know he's fine." Katherine shot back at her.

"They're coming out!" Elena yelled, pointing at Rose's door.

They saw Jack coming out first, with handcuffs around his wrists. A police man escotred him inside one of the cars. But where was Damon? Elena's heart was beating faster and faster. She was going crazy and the only thing she needed was to see him. A minute later another police man came out and this time she saw Damon following him. She felt the weight lift from her chest and tears of joy started falling from her eyes. She had never felt more relieved in her life. She saw Alaric running at him and hugging him.

"He's fine." Elena let a sigh of relief escape her lips as she said this.

"Of course he is." Rose said with tears in her eyes.

"DAMON!" They heard Katherine yelling as she ran at him. She fell in his arms, holding him tight. Damon was surprised at first but then he hugged her back. Elena didn't even give herself time to think of why Katherine was hugging him like that, or what she was to him. He was safe and that's all that mattered to her.

Rose helped Elena stand up. "Come on. Alaric will drive you at Damon's house." Rose said and waved to Alaric's direction.

"Rose I'm glad you're safe." Elena said and embraced Rose. "And even thought it wasn't the best of experiences, I'm glad I was there and you didn't have to face him alone." Rose broke the contact of their bodies first.

"I'm so sorry, for everything. You didn't have to see all this."

"What's the matter?" Alaric asked as he came to stand near them.

"Ric take Elena at Damon's place and stay with her until Damon comes back. She needs to rest and calm down." She ordered him.

"Sure. Let's go Elena." He said but she didn't move an inch from where she was standing. She was looking at Damon. "He's fine. The police will ask him a couple of questions and he'll come home too." Elena looked one last time, only to see Katherine hugging him again. What was the deal between them? She couldn't figure it out. Damon had never mentioned her.

"Let's go Ric." She finally said and started moving towards his car.

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Elena was in Damon's bedroom. Alaric had suggested for her to rest for a while. She tried to sleep the first ten minutes that she had stayed in there, but it wasn't exactly the ideal place for her to stop thinking about him. She was in his house, _in his bedroom, _trying to sleep _on_ _his bed, _smelling _his scent. _It was legit that she wasn't able to take her mind off of him and everything that happened.

She heard the door of the house opening and she knew he was finally there. She heard him talking to Alaric and telling him to stay with Rose for the night. Elena smiled at this. He was always so carrying with the people he loved. Then she heard Alaric leaving. Moments later the door of his bedroom opened and Damon walked in. He took in the image of her sitting on his bed waiting for him.

"You're here! Are you okay?" She asked him as she got up from the bed.

"Yep." He said and almost formed a smile. He was relieved to see she was okay as well. Her lip wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Good." She walked towards him and before he could react she slapped him in the face leaving him speechless and staring at her in shock. "You idiot! You scared me to death! You could have gotten shot or even worse..." She stopped her sentence and looked away.

"So you suddenly care about me?" He asked her angrily.

"What kind of question is that?" She spit back at him.

"I don't know, Elena. Maybe the fact that you didn't answer any of my calls and didn't care to call me back doesn't exactly show how much you care about me."

"Our relationship had gone beyond friendship, Damon! It wasn't right towards Tom."

"And now? Is it right that you're here in person, while you're about to marry that guy?" He asked her but didn't wait for an answer and continued. "Well you know what? I'm done with this situation. I've been waiting for two weeks, until I couldn't anymore. I had to move on and I did." He lied. He would say anything to make her leave. He couldn't take this anymore. He didn't want her to have so much control over him when he couldn't even have her. "So you can go back to Mystic Falls and keep on living in your bubble with "

"It's good to hear your thoughts. Fire away, Damon." Elena challenged him. That only made him angrier.

"I have nothing to say to you. I'm done." He said and a sigh escaped his mouth.

"Good! Because now it's time for you to listen. I'm not here while I'm marrying another guy. I came here to find you and tell you that I broke up with him, because..." She paused for a second. "an old friend of mine walked in my life and changed it. He made me see that life might not be easy, but there's always hope to find happiness. He made me laugh, cry, go mad. He made me live again. And I haven't lived for quite a long time. And after everything...I realized that I was so in love with him that I couldn't handle it. But I did. In the end I took control and changed my entire life for him...yeah it took some time...but I did it." She kept on looking at him intensely. He was speechless and staring at her with his eyes wide open. "This is the part where you say something." But he just kept on looking at her with an expression that Elena couldn't decode. "Okay then..I'll leave. I don't wanna bother you." Her vision was getting blurry because of the tears that were ready to fall. "Just take this." She handed him a letter. "It's what I owe you for the extra days you stayed in Mystic Falls." With that she walked out of the room.

She was almost at the door when a hand grabbed her and turned her around. Brown teary eyes locked with ocean blue ones in an intense look. Before she knew what was happening, Damon grabbed her by the waist and brought her close to him. The moment that his lips crushed hers, it felt like the balance of nature had been restored. They kissed hungrily, like their lives depended on that kiss. Elena's hands travelled through his hair and his face, trying to bring him even closer. Damon was the first to break the kiss. He took in the sight of her shocked face. He had left her brathless and he loved it.

"Now wouldn't that guy be the biggest asshole in the world to let you walk away?" He asked her and a smile was fixed on his face. He knew that she had hurt him but he couldn't not forgive her after everything she told him. Except from making him wait, she had done everything right. She stayed true to herself and her feelings and he was proud to see her take control of her life. That was the girl he had fallen for.

"You mean the guy who has moved on?" She asked, without holding back the tears anymore. "With a very attractive woman, for the record." And there was the jealousy.

"Well that guy probably had to find a distraction, because he thought he lost the girl he's in love with." His eyes were full of emotion. "And _for the record_ he doesn't find her more attractive than you. And she doesn't matter to him." He said, still holding her in his arms.

"But he matters to her." She said, not looking him in the eyes. " I saw you Damon. She was so relieved to see you were okay. She must have feelings for you."

"She's a friend." He said quickly. "Yeah we slept together once, but it was only because I tried to drink myself into a coma when you didn't call." He said and kissed her cheek making Elena melt. She was finally not a forbidden zone for him. He could touch her and kiss her without having to hide from anyone.

"I believe you." She said, gaining a smile from him. "Can we leave everything in the past? I'm here because I want this. _Us. _And we're finally free. If you can forgive me for making you wait, there's nothing stopping us."

"I already have." He whispered and gave her another smile, and this time she smiled back. She closed the space between them and captured his lips in a slow kiss that soon became passionate. Damon took a few steps forward until her back hit his front door. His hands were all over her, consuming her.

"You have no idea for how long I've been wanting to do this." He said with a low sexy voice between kisses.

"Trust me I know. I've been wanting the same thing." She said as his kisses went from her lips to her chin and travelled down to her neck. Her eyes closed and her hands touched his hair. Her neck was a very sensitive spot for her and the way he was using his lips on it made her moan.

"Let's go in the bedroom." He stopped kissing her neck and grabbed the back of her thighs in order to lift her off the floor. Her legs closed around his waist as he started walking towards his room. His steps were slow because he was too busy kissing her. He felt like he couldn't get enough.

When they finally got near the bed, he let her down, never letting his mouth lose the contact it had with hers. She started unbuttoning his black shirt until his toned chest was revealed to her eyes. She stopped kissing his mouth and let herself admire him. She started kissing his neck, using her tongue in all the sensitive spots that she knew would bring him pleasure. Damon didn't waste any more time and grabbed the hem of her shirt and started lifting it inch by inch. Elena stopped kissing his neck and lifted her arms in order to help him get rid of it. Their lips met again and again as she helped him get his shirt completely off too. Once Damon was shirtless he grabbed her waist and connected her bodies with hers. He brought down one the straps of her bra and kissed her bare shoulder, before he unclasped it and took it off of her. Her breasts were finally exposed to his hungry eyes and he cupped one of them in his hand, massaging it and pinching the nipple while his mouth moved to her neck. The pleasure that he was bringing her was too much and Elena thought she might reach an orgasm if he kept going like this.

Damon felt her tense and stopped. He didn't want this to be over fast. The rest of their clothes came off and they fell on the bed. Elena could feel Damon's cock touching her belly, begging for attention as he was hovering above her. She quickly grabbed him and started moving her hand up and down his shaft. Damon closed his eyes. Never had a handjob affected him so much before, but watching Elena holding his manhood in her tiny hands was the sexiest thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Fuck!" He said and took her hand away from his throbbing member. "Let me take care of you." He whispered in her ear and then bit down at her earlobe. His hand found one of her breasts, while his mouth kissed all the way down her other one. Once he reached it, he started sucking at it. Elena's moans filled the room as his expert tongue worked its magic on her.

"This is so good." She said in ecstasy. No one had ever brought her so much pleasure just by sucking at her breasts.

Damon started moving his mouth lower and lower until he reached her hipbones. He sucked at each of them and then moved down at her pussy.

"I wanna taste you." He said and didn't lose any time. His mouth attacked her, sucking and swirling his tongue around her clit, while he was still massaging her breast with his one hand. Elena's moans got louder and she tangled her fingers in his hair, holding his head at the place she needed him.

"Keep going." She almost shouted.

"I'm gonna make you come so hard baby." He said and slid two fingers inside of her and started moving them in and out while his tongue kept on playing with her clit. "You're so wet and tight." He increased his pace until he felt her walls pulsating around his fingers, signaling her climax. Elena screamed his name as she came hard.

She was still panting, as he kissed her stomach, breasts and then her neck.

"I need to be inside you." He said and grabbed a condom from the drawer near his bed. Elena helped him place it and then grabbed him and positioned him at her entrance. He pushed inside of her inch by inch, which made Elena bite down at his shoulder. He let her walls adjust to his size and then started moving in and out of her in an excruciating slow pace. His one hand stroked her face as their lips collided into a deep kiss. Damon started moving faster inside of her and Elena took hold of his back as she started meeting him thrust by thrust. Thanks to his length he was hitting spots inside of her that she didn't even know they existed and making her feel like she was in heaven. Her walls tightened around him and Damon knew she was close and started moving even faster until he brought her over the edge, giving her the most intense orgasm of her life. He thrust himself a couple more times inside of her and then collapsed on top of her as his orgasm took him over.

Elena held him there, massaging his scalp, making him relax. She had never felt more complited in her entire life. She never knew what it was like to be with a person you had so strong feelings for, until that night. She wanted them to stay like this forever. Damon lifted his head and looked inside her eyes and in that moment she knew that his thoughts were reflecting hers. He wanted this as much as she wanted it.

"I could get used to this." He smiled at her and she captured his lips in a quick playful kiss.

"And I thought you hated it." She teased him.

"Do you want me to show you how much I hate it once more?" He smirked. Elena could feel his member coming to life again.

"Yeah, I think I could use a reminder." She said and kissed him fiercely.

_For once, everything was fine._

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**So that was it. I bet you didn't see this coming. And to be honest I didn't either, the plot twist with Jack is something I came up with while writing the chapter. I thought it would be more interesting than just write an entire chapter of Damon and Elena screaming at eachother. Also...the sex scene. That's what I'm more anxious about. I have written Twitter smut about Damon and Elena before, but I've never really wrote anything like this. So how did you like it? Did it feel natural? I hope it wasn't rushed or anything. I tried hard to make it come organically. I can't wait to read your reviews on this one, so don't forget to leave one _please!_ You can also find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon) and I will gladly talk to you and answer to any questions you might have about the story or the characters or even give you some spoilers. I love you all xoxo **


	13. Unbreakable

**So here we are. Chapter 13. Damon and Elena slept together in the previous chapter and according to the reviews you all enjoyed it(Thank God!). As you all know this is my first story and there are many things that I still don't know about the fanfction world. So I wanted to ask you, if you know how I can get my story into a community, where more people will be able to read it. Btw, I want to thank my new friend DelenaSucker (aka Twisha) who accepted to beta my story from now on(her work will start from chapter 14). Anyway, let's move on to the chapter. I hope you enjoy xxx**

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Damon opened his eyes slowly. Flashes of the previous night started playing before his eyes and a smile automatically appeared on his lips. He was happy. It had been a long time since he felt like that. His chest felt so light, like he didn't have worries or problems. Who would have thought? Damon Salvatore, the eternal playboy, _in love_. He thought this would never happen to him, but at the end of the day all it took was the right girl. Something was wrong though. He couldn't spot the person who was responsible for all the beautiful things he felt. He had held her in his arms the entire night, but now? Where was she?

He heard noises coming from the kitchen. _She's cooking, _he thought and his smile got wider. He got up from the bed and put on a pair of black sweatpants. He got out of his room and made his way to the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face. He looked in the mirror, checking himself out before getting out and walking to the kitchen. There she was, wearing just his black button up shirt and her underwear. Her hair were fixed in a messy bun and she had no make up on. She hadn't noticed him. He kept on staring, enjoying the image of her. Damon couldn't believe how beautiful she looked without even trying. From his experience, women never looked so good in the morning. But there she was, looking like a model. Except from looking amazing, she was also a good cook. The smell of omelet and peppers was filling Damon's nostrils, making him want to taste it.

He ever so slowly walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Elena didn't see him approaching and she jumped a little at his sudden touch.

"Scaredy cat" He said as his lips found the back of her neck.

"You're distracting me." She tried to sound serious but a huge grin was on her face.

"Is my presence so affective, miss Gilbert?" His mouth moved to her ear and Elena bit her lip in order to stop herself from moaning.

"You're not just present. You're all over me." She said in a teasing voice but didn't do anything to make him get away from her. The feeling of his hard chest against her was addictive.

"You love it." He said and forced her to turn around. With no warning his lips attacked hers in a kiss full of smile. He pulled back and looked inside her eyes. She was glowing just like he was. "See? I just wanted my Elena fix." She chuckled and bit her lip as her hands went around his neck.

"You got it?" She asked playfuly.

"I'm not quite done yet." He smirked.

"Well, the rest will have to wait, if you don't want to eat a burned omelet." She said with a grin that was making his heart melt.

"Fair enough." He said and pulled away from her. He sat at a kitchen chair and kept on starring at her while she went back to preparing their breakfast.

"You should probably call Rose. See how she's doing." She said while she searched for the dishes.

"The left one on the top." Damon informed her in order to help her find them. "As for Rose, I have a better idea. Let's go see her later." Elena turned her head and gave him a smile.

"Sure." She said and went back to placing their omelet in the dishes. "No one opened the bar today?"

"We kept it closed. I think we all needed to rest." He said recalling the bad part of the previous night.

"We didn't exactly get to talk about everything that happened yesterday." She said and placed his plate on the table in front of him, and hers right across it. She sat down and waited for him to talk.

"What is it that you want to talk about?" He asked and took a bite of the omelet. It was delicious. The woman had some skills in the kitchen.

"You never told me how you were even there."

"I came to see you. Rose insisted that I stayed outside. She wanted to tell you that I was there." He paused to eat another bite. "She said she was gonna tell me when to come in. But the minutes kept passing, so I used her spare key and got in." He studied her expression and then continued. "I'm glad I did."

"What you did, was very dangerous." She said while looking down at her plate. "I got scared when you started fighting with Jack." Their eyes locked and Damon's hand flew to her face, his thumb touching her lip. It was almost completely healed.

"That bastard got you good, huh?" He felt guilty that he didn't walk in the house earlier. Jack wouldn't have hurt her.

"It was just a tiny scratch on my lip. It didn't even hurt that much." The previous night she had been greatful to realize that it wasn't that big of a deal when she looked herself in the mirror.

"But it was bleeding."

"You're saying it like I was drowning in a pool of blood." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry for being concerned." He said and took his hand away from her.

"I just don't want you to worry. I'm fine." _I've survived worse, _she thought. "So what's the story?" She suddenly asked.

"What story?" Confusion on his face.

"Of Jack and Rose."

"They met in a ship in 1912. They fell in love, the ship sank, he died and now the old lady is about to throw her necklace in the ocean." She laughed at his joke. He loved making her laugh or smile.

"Damon! Can you be serious for once?" She asked him still chuckling.

"Well, he wasn't always like that." He said getting serious again. "Him and Rose were dating for almost a year, when his older brother had an accident and died. He was an orphan and his brother was all he had. So instead of finding a healthy way to deal with his grief he started using drugs." He paused to take a bite of his food. "Rose didn't know from the beginning. I was the one who noticed the signs and told her. At first she ignored me. She didn't want to believe me. Three months passed like that. I was worried that she'd never open her eyes. But one night, she got home early. He must have thought that he had a few hours before she'd be back. So Rose walked in and basically caught him taking his dose."

"Oh my God." Elena said. "And then? Rose said that he tried to convince her to start taking drugs too."

"Rose tried to talk him out of it. But he kept on telling her that drugs were taking every pain away. He kept on saying how good they made him feel and insisted for her to try them before accusing him." Elena could see the disgust on his face. "Rose was scared. She didn't know what to do. She obviously cared about him. But she didn't know how to fix this. She came to me and Alaric for help. I told her that I'd take care of it, so I went to see Jack. I had a talk with him until he agreed that we put him in rehab."

"I guess it didn't go well."

"Ten days later he quited and went back to the drugs. Rose tried to make him stop. She wanted to help him. We all did. But it wasn't working. I talked to Rose and tried to convince her to leave him. She wouldn't listen." He shrugged. "One night things got bad. Jack owed money to his drug dealer. The guy walked in the house while Rose was there. He threatened her that he would kill both of them if they didn't give him the money. Rose was scared. The guys had a gun and wasn't in his right mind. So she just payed him with her own money. When she told me what happened she finally admitted that she wanted this to end. She didn't want to be with Jack any longer, but she was afraid of his reaction. So I went to find him. I told him to leave Rose alone and to never bother her again, because he'd have to do with me."

"That explains a lot." She cut him off. "Last night, it looked like he had open bussiness with you."

"Yeah, the truth is he has his reasons to not like me much." He smirked.

"Come on. Finish your food. We have to go see Rose." She ordered him and started eating her own omelet faster.

"Did you call your mother?" He asked while he kept on eating.

"I called her yesterday, when I got he-." The sound of the doorbell made her stop her sentence. "Are you expecting anyone?"

"No..but I have a guess on who might that be." He said and pursed his lips.

"Who?" She asked curiously.

"Just don't get mad." He said and got up.

"Katherine." She said and her good mood vanished. "Well I'll let you talk to her." She said and got up.

"Wait." He grabbed her hand and stopped her from living the kitchen. "Why are you acting like this? You know I don't want her."

"Right." She said and tried to force a smile on her face.

"Do you know you're cute when you're jealous?" He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm not jealous Damon!" She almost yelled. "Now, go open the door. She's waiting."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes and started walking to the door while she made her way to his bedroom. It had been a wonderful morning so far and she wasn't in the mood to meet his one night stand.

Damon opened the door and his eyes met Katherine's. _I knew it, _he thought. Instead of invitng her in, he stepped out. He didn't want to make Elena feel uncomfortable.

"You look good, for someone that almost got shot last night." She teased.

"I always look good." He winked at her and gained a smile.

"I thought that you might want some company, since you're gonna be resting for today." Damon forced a smile on his face. He had to tell her the truth.

"Look we're friends. Right? Or at least we're trying to be." He corrected himself.

"Yes." She was confused and nervous. She didn't know where he was going with this.

"And friends are honest with eachother, right?" He continued.

"Right." She answered, not so confidently.

"Since we agree on that, let me be honest with you." He looked inside her eyes before he kept going with his speech. "I want to keep our relationship strictly friendly."

"Oh." Was the only thing she said at first. "What changed your mind?" She asked looking at anything but him.

"There's something you don't know."

"And what is that? What could have possibly changed your mind in one night?" Her question had hint of aggressiveness.

"I didn't tell you but...I'm in love with a girl. Our story is kind of complicated and there were some obstacles in our way, but now she's here. And I wanna be with her. So if you're my friend, please try to understand and be happy for me."

"Yeah...sure...of course." She smiled awkwardly. "Just one question. Do I know her?"

"Well you must have seen her. She's the girl that was with Rose last night. Her name is Elena."

"Oh yeah, I remember." She said. "She's pretty." A fake smile crept across her face. "Does she know about me?"

"She does."

"Good." She was trying to make a sweet voice and failing. It wasn't her thing. "I'm really happy for you. And I'd even like to meet her, if it isn't too awkward."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. It would be weird."

"I understand." She nodded.

"So we're good?"

"Totally." She gave him a bright smile.

"Anyway, is everything fine in your life?" He asked in order to be polite. It's not like he didn't want to talk to her all of a sudden. But Elena was inside his house and he wanted to go to her.

"Yes. Everything is fine. But I think you should go back inside, to your girl." She suggested and winked at him. She had to act like it wasn't big of a deal to her.

"Well, you're probably right. Anyway, I'll see you around." He tried to hide his excitement. He didn't want to look like he was trying to get rid of her.

"See ya." And with that she stared walking away. _She needed to talk to Sage._

* * *

"Thank you." Rose said and gave her a tight hug, when Elena handed her the flowers that she and Damon had bought for her.

"Are you feeling better?" Elena asked still in Rose's arms.

"Thanks to the three of you." She pulled away and smiled sweetly. "So come in." She let Elena and Damon inside the house and closed the door behind her.

"The lovebirds are here." Rose announced them to Alaric, who was sitting comfortably at her couch. Elena's cheeks flashed red.

"Shut up." Damon said, but a huge grin was on his face.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'm gonna go get you some wine." She made her way to the kitchen.

Damon sat on an armchair and when Elena was about to make her way to the other one, he pulled her towards him until she lost him until she lost her balance and found herself sitting on his lap. Damon chuckled with her funny expression and her wide opened eyes.

"Uhm...what are you doing?" She asked him with clenched teeth and then gave an apologetic look to Alaric. He was clearly amused.

"You don't have to be shy Elena." He chuckled. "It's actually good to see that everything worked out just fine." She smiled at him politely. She didn't know him or Rose for a long time. But the fact that they loved Damon made her love them as well. She was glad they have accepted her as a friend and she couldn't wait to get to know them better.

Her body relaxed in Damon's arms and she let hers go around his neck. Their eyes locked and Damon gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Awww you guys are so cute." They heard Rose saying and Damon rolled his eyes, but then smiled. She offered a glass of wine to Damon and another one to Elena.

"Now it's your turn to find someone." Alaric said to Rose.

"Only this time, me and Ric are picking the guy." Damon stated.

"Very funny, Damon."

"What about that Mason guy?" Alaric suggested.

"Yeah! I've seen him talking to you. He was totally flirting and you were drooling all over him." Both men laughed at this.

"Was not!" Rose yelled with a voice higher than her usual.

"Were too!" Damon and Alaric said at the same time.

"So why don't you ask him out?" Elena asked.

"Don't you listen to them! He's not flirting with me. He's just being nice."

"But you like him." She pushed her.

"He's hot." Rose finally admitted and her cheecks flashed red.

"Nice _and_ hot? You should definitely ask him out." Elena chuckled.

"Can we stop talking about Mason and focus on something else? Alaric is single too!"

"And I'm staying single. I don't need anyone to cut my balls off and have me wrapped around their little finger." He took a sip of his wine.

"That's what almost every guys says." Rose said and sat next to him. "Look at Damon for example. He was the biggest man slut I've ever know. And now he can't keep his hands off of Elena and he's not interested in other women in the slightest bit." Elena's inner godess grew 10 feet tall thanks to Rose's words and a grin appeared on her face.

"Can we change the subject?" Damon asked embarassed.

"I have an idea. Why don't we play a game?" Elena suggested.

"Great idea. What about never have i ever?" Alaric asked.

"I'm in!" Rose and Damon said at the same time.

"Me too." Elena agreed with them.

"Good. Rose take the one away and bring some real booze." Alaric ordered.

"You know where I keep the alcohol. Get you ass over there and get it." She shot back at him.

"Fine!"

Moments later he had brought a bottle of vodka and Rose's set of shot glasses.

"Okay, let me start." Damon insisted. "Never have I ever had sex in front of my dog." He said and Alaric took a shot.

"Oh my God! You did?" Elena asked shocked.

"He wouldn't leave the room." He defended himself laughing. "Okay, my turn. Never have I ever watched porn with a friend!" Damon, Rose and Elena all took a shot.

"You have?" Damon asked Elena with eyes opened eyes. _And she looks so inoscent, _he thought.

"Well...it was in high school. Me and Caroline were curious about sex." She was red like a tomato.

"Unbelievable!" He said in a dramatic tone.

"Okay my turn." She said. "Never have I ever, took someone's virginity." Damon smirked and took a shot.

"No one looks shocked."

"Who was it jerk?" Alaric asked him amused.

"It was that girl from high school. Her name was Andie." He still remembered how awkward it was.

"She's pretty hot these days." Alaric informed him.

"Okay enough. It's my turn." Rose cut them off. "Never have I ever, recieve a footjob." She laughed.

"Fuck you!" Alaric said and took a shot.

"A footjob? Really?" Elena asked before starting to laugh.

"I still remember his face the next day!" Alaric had walked in the bar and when Damon had asked him about the previous night he had refused to tell him anything. Later at the same night, Damon and Rose made him drink until he finally told them about the footjob.

"It was the most awkward thing ever!" Poor Ric. He looked so embarassed.

"Anyway. Never have I ever had sex in a public place." Damon said and all of them took a shot, except Elena.

"You haven't?" Rose chuckled. "You should try it. There's something exciting about it." She winked at her.

"Okay let's continue. Never have I ever, fanatsised about someone in this room." Damon and Elena took a shot.

"I want details later." Damon whispered in her ear, sending goosebumps in her entire body and making her bite her lip, in order to hide the smile that was ready to spread across her face.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Never have I ever, hit on someone while I was in a date with someone else." Damon took a shot and everyone looked at him in shock.

"You're a class A dick! You know that, right?" Rose asked retorically.

"Why? It turned into a threesome. It was fun." He wiggled his brows and everyone rolled their eyes.

The rest of the night went on like this. Elena was having so much. She wished this could last forever. But the same moment she made that wish, other thoughts started clouding her head. This would all be over in a few days. She would have to go back to Mystic Falls. She couldn't forget about her responsibilities. Her family needed her.

* * *

"I'm telling you, he stood there and told me that he doesn't want to have sex with me ever again, because all of a sudden he fell in love." Katherine yelled.

"Damon? In love?" Sage was shocked.

"That was my reaction too!"

"Do we at least know the girl?" The ginger woman asked.

"I saw her yesterday. It turns out, she was there too, when that maniac walked in Rose's house." She informed her friend.

"So we have a problem here. As long as this girl is in the game, you can't win."

"We're together in this. And I'm not gonna let a bump in the road destroy our plan. We just have to be smart and find a way to get that girl out of the way." Katherine hissed.

"Well I have an idea." Sage gave her a devilish smile. "Just tell me again, what does Damon know exactly?"

"He thinks that we slept together." Katherine's face was serious.

"But nothing happened. He simply passed out and you just took his clothes off. Right?" She arched her brows.

"Yes." She nodded.

"We should use his memory loss in our advantage." Sage stated while working her new plan inside her head.

"How?" Katherine couldn't figure it out on her own. "I can just make up a story. I'm supposed to not remember what happened either."

"Exactly. We will use _your _memory loss in our advantage as well. I'm not sure if you're gonna like this. It's kind of extreme but..." Sage warned her.

"Just tell me Sage! I'll do anything." She yelled desperately.

"Well then, listen what you're going to do." She started explaining.

* * *

"So where are we going?" After they left Rose's house, Damon insisted that they went somewhere on their own.

"We're almost there." He said with a smirk. The place where he was taking her, was one of his favorite places on earth, if not his favorite.

"And where is _there _exactly?" He had been refusing to give her any clue. He wanted to surprise her.

"I don't wanna spoil this. I'm telling you, you're gonna love it." He looked so excited. It reminded her of the little boy he once was.

"What if I don't?" She challenged him and cocked a brow at him.

"If you don't...well I'm sure I'll find a way to make it up to you." He winked at her, making her blush and bite her lip. _So this is how people become sex addicts, _she thought.

"But can't you give me a hint? Come on, Dam-"

"We're here." He cut her off as he parked the car at the side of the road.

Elena got out of the car and looked around. The only thing that was there, were trees. Forest, to be exact. The fact that they were all alone in the middle of nowhere, kind of scared her, but at least she felt safe while he was with her.

"So _that's _the place you wanted to show me?" She shrugged.

"Follow me judgy." He said, ignoring her previous comment. He took her hand and started walking inside the forest. The path they followed was leading them upwards. It didn't take long until the wild plantation begun to relent, revealing an open space, that no one could have ever imagined was there. They height wasn't great at all, but it was giving them a good view of the town. The sky above them was crystal clear and thanks to the lack of lights they were able to see the stars.

"Wow." Elena brought her hand in her mouth in amazement.

"You like?" Damon asked her with a smile.

"It's beautiful." She said, still looking around her and taking in the beauty of the nature. "So why are we here?"

"There's a meteor shower tonight." He informed her all smiles and took a few steps forward appreciating the view.

"Oh my God. Who would have thought?" The grin on her face wouldn't go away.

"Who would have thought what?"

"That you're a romantic!" She went to stand behind him, facing his back and put her arms around his waist, bringning their bodies close.

"I'm not!" He tried to sound like she had offended him.

"Hmm...so...this is one of your tricks. You bring them up here and have your way with them?" She wasn't serious, but she wasn't exactly joking either. The fact that his style had so far been wham bam thank you ma'am, scared her. She obviously knew that he cared about her. But he would stay away from relationships in the same way a cat would stay away from the water.

"I've told you before. I don't need tricks for a woman to sleep with me. But the answer to your question is no. I've never brought anyone up here. Most people don't even know this place exists." He turned around to face her. She was obviously relieved.

"And how do _you _know about this place?" She asked letting her hands move to his chest as he held her close to him.

"I don't know if you remember, but when I was a kid I was so fascinated with the stars and the universe and anything that had to do with it. So when I first came to Denver, my mother wanted to find something that would take my mind off of you. So she bought me my first telescope and then searched for a place where we would be able to study the stars." He looked up at the sky. "One day she brought me here. I don't know how she descovered this place, but I'm glad she did. I have so many happy memories of her here. We would always come in this place on Saturday nights, with books and maps and we would search for stars, nebulas, binary stars...it was so exciting." He paused and sadly added. "I miss that."

"I know." She said and closed him into a hug. She had seen the way his eyes had moistened. "And this will always be your special place." She said stroking the back of his neck with her hand.

"Thank you." He said all of a sudden and pulled back.

"For what?"

"You know...before you came into my life, I thought that by forgetting her, I'd get through this and I put so much energy in it. But the truth is I was in denial. Forgetting kept me back from accepting the fact that she is gone. That's the reason I acted the way I acted when I first saw you. I didn't want to have anyone or anything that reminded me of the past that was filled with memories of her. I couldn't take it." His gaze fell at the ground and then back at her. "So thank you...for reminding me about her. She deserves to be remembered...even just by a crappy son like me."

"You're an amazing son." She said stroking his cheek. "And I'm sure that she's looking at you right now, being here, in your sepcial place, and thinking how proud she is of the person that you've become." She knew that what she said wasn't so special. But she knew that ever since she lost her father, these kind of thoughts were the ones that kept her going every time that she had a sad moment.

"Ever since she passed, I stopped coming here. This is the first time..." He let his sentence extinguish.

"And how do you feel?" She wanted him to talk to her. Maybe expressing his feelings wasn't his forte, but she knew it would make him feel better and she was willing to push him a little bit.

"Good." He smiled. "I'm glad that you're here."

"Damon...I know that you miss your mother and that you'll never be completely over it. But you don't have to be alone." He didn't say anything and she continued. "My mother gave me some details about the letter that I delivered to you." He kept on staring at her. He wanted to hear where she was going with this. "You know your father's name. What keeps you from meeting him?" She asked, without actually waiting for an answer. "I know it's not easy. But maybe he has his own side of the story. There's a chance that you'll get to have _a father_..a family even." Her face got closer to his. "Don't lose that opportunity." She said softly.

After a few minutes of thinking her words, Damon looked down at her. "If I decide to meet him...will you go with me?"

"Of course I will." She replied without thinking about it twice.

"Thank you." He wispered, letting his forhead rest on hers.

And while they were like that, something caught Elena's attention. "Damon look up! It's starting!"

He followed her order and looked up. "Make a wish." He said looking at the sky and then back inside her eyes.

"I did." She informed him.

"What did you wish for?" He wa curious.

"I can't tell you. It won't come true."

"At least kiss me, and make mine come true." And she did. She kissed him passionately with everything that she had, and he kissed her back even more fiercely. They had never wanted anyone the way they wanted eachother. After a few moments Elena pulled away in order to catch her breath. She wished she had the words to tell him how he made her feel, but it was impossible. Actually the fact that she had never been in love before, made it difficult even for herself to completely understand this thing. But she was sure about one thing. Out of every person that she had ever met in her life, Damon had made a difference. And in that moment, when his gaze was holding hers, she knew in her heart that she never wanted to lose him or the way he felt about him. "You see?" He asked her with a dreamy smile. "They do come true, even if you tell them."

* * *

**So that was the 13th chapter. Damon told Katherine the truth. Alaric/Rose/Damon/Elena had some bonding time. Also Sage made some changes in her plan with Katherine, so get ready for shit to go down. Also the last scene, of Damon and Elena was my personal favorite to write so far. I think it gave some more depth in Damon's character and also we heard him finally giving Elena an actual apologize for the way he treated her when he first saw her. I'm really sorry, if the chapter contained a lot of mistakes, but it was hard to check it properly, thanks to my lack of sleep(I've been up for more than 24 hours and also travelled from my university to my home-town...so "tired" doesn't begin to describe my state) Anyway, let me know how did you find all this. You can also find me on Twitter ( shelovesdamon) and I'll be more than happy to answer to any questions you might have about the story/characters or even give you some spoilers of what's coming next. I love you all xoxo**


	14. Surprise

**I'm back with an all new chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long to update but wirting wasn't in my priorities thanks to some personal issues...I hope you understand. Everything is good now though and I hope I'll be able to continue the story without any complications. I can't thank you enough for all your reviews. I'm so happy that this story has some fans/followers. You guys rock and I promise that I'll do my best to make this story worth reading. I also wanted to let you know, that I uploaded this story on wattpad as well. My user name there is shelovesdamon, in case you're interested. Anyway, moving to chapter 14. Enjoy xoxoxo.**

* * *

Elena was preparing the small suitcase that she had brought with her when she arrived. It had been a week and a half since that day, and Damon couldn't believe all the things that had changed ever since. The biggest change, was that for once he was happy. Elena had brought the light back to his life. She made him want to hope and dream and have faith. She made him feel strong and at the same time she had become his biggest weakness. After having a taste of what his life with her could be, he felt weak in the idea of having to live without her. Even watching her pack her things to go back to he family for a while, was making his stomach swirl. He wanted to hold her there with him and never let her go. Or at least he wished he could follow her, to whatever destination, he didn't care.

Almost like she could hear his thoughts, she turned to look at him and smiled, while putting the last pair of jeans she had brought with her in her suitcase.

"It's just for two weeks Damon."

"I know." He sighed.

"We'll make this work." She promised. The previous days they had spent a lot of time talking about their relationship. Their biggest problem was the fact that his life was in Denver, while hers was in Mystic Falls. A long distance relationship wasn't Damon's style at all. But since there wasn't another solution they decided to keep it this way, until they'd figure something out.

"I know that." He said and walked towards her. "But lets just say, that I got used to you kicking me in your sleep." He smirked and got closer to her.

"I don't kick you in my sleep." She tried to look offended by it was obvious that she was about to laugh. "

"That's why I feel like I'm sleeping with a tornado?" He grabbed her by the waist and brought her close to his body.

"Hmmm...and maybe I'm going to miss your snoring, Mr. Tractor." She bit her lip, to hide her smile.

"Fair enough." He said and brought his face inches away from hers. Their lips were a kiss appart and Elena could feel his breath fondling her skin. It was at moments like this, that she was at a lose of words and thoughts. She only wanted to do what felt natural to her and she did. She moved forward to capture his lips, but he pulled back, not letting her. He loved playing dirty.

"Mean." She wispered.

"If we start this, I don't think I'm gonna be able to stop." His voice was husky and sexy. She had never been affected by someone's voice, let alone turned on. But with _Damon's_ voice, she couldn't help it.

"Then don't." And that was the only invitation he needed. He kissed her fiercely and brought his hands to her face. Elena started undoing the buttons of his shirt, which was a hard task, when her entire being was concentrated in the way his lips felt on hers. Without thinking too much about it, she pulled the shirt in oppesite sides, until they heard the sound of the buttons flying in every direction possible. Damon didn't seem shocked by any means. He helped her get rid of her shirt as well, and his hands found the clasp of her bra trying to unhook it, as his lips travelled down to her neck, sucking and nibling at all the right spots before bringing his lips on hers again.

Elena was so lost in the moment. She was trying to memorize every sensation. That was the only way she could go two weeks without him. Her hands went through his hair, enjoying the softness. Damon finally unhooked her bra and pulled it away from her body, revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze. The moment he tried to reach for them, Elena stopped him and started pushing him back until he fell on the bed. She was on top of him in a matter of seconds. She could feel how hard he was through his jeans and she could also feel how wet, the thought of him being hard for her, was making her. She took in the view of his toned chest and his abs. Any model would envy his body. She licked her lips and then attacked his chest with them. Damon let his head fall back in pleasure as her tongue circled one of his nipples. She sucked there hard and then ever so lightly bit it. Damon thought that he would come right then and there. With his hand he pulled lightly at Elena's hair making her stop. He lifted his upper body, until he was facing her breasts. His hands found their way to the zipper of her jeans while he burried his head between her breasts causing her laugh.

"Damon!" She said trying to pull his head away. "You're such a-" But he gave her a slam on her ass and cut her off.

"Let me enjoy this." He said and before she could form any response he rolled them on the bed and stood above her, pulling her jeans down her legs. Elena was left speechless. He had never been so dominant before, but the dangerous and sexy look on his face made her want more of this behaviour. Ever so slowly, he brought his lips to her stomach and moved south, leaving a trail of wet kisses in his passage. Then he grabbed the hem of her lacy red underwear with his teeth and inch by inch, he started pulling it down, revealing to his eyes the place that she needed him the most. The sight of him, using his teeth to take off her panties was by far the sexiest thing she had ever seen. His every move, was so erotic, making her feel like she would explode at any second.

"I'm gonna blow your mind." And she knew that he would keep his promise, just like he had kept it every single time he let these words come out of his mouth. She layed back and prepared herself for the waves of pleasure. She could feel her panties being ripped away from her body. She felt him kissing the inside of her thies, making her center ache for attention. When she couldn't take it anymore she tangled her fingers in his hair and started guiding his lips to her core. Elena's inpescience made Damon chuckle and let out a breath which went straight to her sex, causing her to moan. Damon didn't waste any more time. He started sucking her, all the way up and down, before his tongue found her clit. Elena was almost ready to come undone, under the caresses of his expert mouth. Only then Damon let his tongue go lower and penetrate her. He moved in and out of her, making her lose control and call his name repeatedly. When he felt her orgasm nearing, he bit lightly at her sensitive nub, making her entire body shiver and sending her to climax.

Elena could barely move, but she wanted to repay him the favor. She used every bit of energy that she had to roll them on the bed, so that she was on top. She helped him get rid of his pants and boxers, until his erection stood proudly in front of her. She lowered her face and blew at his tip, making him close his eyes tight. She knew he didn't handle teasing very well, but she loved to see what she could do to him. She liked knowing that she had some kind of power over him, or at least his body. She smiled and her lips found his V. She kissed it sensually, causing him to arch his lower body a little. It took all the self control he had to not roll them around and just drive himself inside of her. Elena continued kissing all the places near his member, never touching it. Without warning she brought one of her hands to his balls, squizing them, earning a groan from Damon. She looked up and her eyes locked with his. With not losing eye contact she licked all the way from the base to his tip, where she stopped and flicked her tongue a couple of times. Damon wanted to let his head fall back, but he didn't want to lose the sight of her doing this. With no hesitation, Elena took him inside her mouth, moving her head up and down his cock. She relaxed her throat and took more and more of him inside her mouth, until she felt him touching the back of her throat.

"FUCK!" She heard Damon saying and pulling at the covers. "I'm gonna..." He couldn't finish his sentence, but Elena knew what he wanted to say. Instead of pulling away, she sucked harder making him completely lose control. Her hand found his balls again and the moment she touched them, she drove him to his orgasm making him unload himself inside her mouth. Elena released him and swallowed. She could see his chest moving up and down as he was trying to catch his breath. She let her head fall on it, listening and feeling his heart beat crazy inside of it. One of his hands held her there, as his other petted her hair. These were the moments that they would both miss the most when they'd be separated. They weren't doing anything special, but just their hearts beating against eachother like they were trying to come out of their chests to meet their other half and become one, were making these moments precious.

"You have to get ready." He was the first to break the silence.

"In a bit. Right now...I want to stay like this." He kissed the top of her head and grinned.

"Your mother is going to kill me." His actions were contraddicting his words as he held her tighter.

"She loves you too much for that." She giggled.

"Well, since you're not leaving this bed, I might as well take advantage of your body for a little bit longer." She heard him saying as she felt his member harden again.

"Well, I might as well like this idea." She smirked.

"Well...we aim to please Miss Gilbert." And with that he rolled them so that he was above her.

_Everything felt right in the world._

* * *

**1 Week later.**

"So I made a decision." Damon said out of nowhere, caughting Rose's attention.

"Alright. Lets hear it." She gave Ric a knowing look. She could tell that he already knew. The boys weren't usually keeping secrets from her, but she was 100% sure that they had already had a conversation about whatever Damon was about to tell her.

"So I've been thinking and...I'm ready to meet my father." Shock. Rose was trying to convince him and he wouldn't listen. And all it took was a conversation with Ric? She had an urge to roll her eyes at the boys, but she held it back. She didn't want Damon to think that she didn't like the idea.

"That's great news. I totally support this." She smiled. "Does Elena know?" And the subject took another turn.

"Of course. She is the one who basically brain washed me into this." _So it wasn't Ric, _Rose thought. "Next week she'll be back and we'll go see him together." Elena had spent lot of the time that they were talking on the phone, trying to convince him that there wasn't a right time, for him to meet his family and that the sooner he did it the better.

"Good for you. Do you know anything about your father's personality? Or you'll just walk in there and let him surprise you?" Damon had done his reasearch, but to know anything about his father's personality, he would need a contact from his circles.

"I only know he's rich and powerful. So I have a few guesses about his personality." Rose couldn't believe he was being sarcastic even about something like this.

"And you're just gonna tell him that you're his son? I mean, how old is he? Can his heart take it?"

"What else am I supposed to say to him?" Never had he thought that this day would come, so what he'd actually say to his father, was a total mystery for him too.

"I don't know...maybe you should talk at someone else first. Someone close to him, in order to prepare him." Damon stopped to think for a second. His eyes softened. Rose could see that deep down he wanted this to flow as smoothly as possible.

"I don't care if he's prepared or not." He said putting his rough face back on.

"I know Damon. But trust me. You want this to go well."

"To be honest I don't know how I want it to go. There's this part of me that always wanted to have a father. And then there's this other part, that just wants to scream in his face what a coward he was, for not coming after me and my mother and choosing to let us go." Rose's eyes went to Alaric and then back to Damon.

"Damon, maybe you need to do both. Talk to him. Tell him how you feel about the way he acted back then and then choose if he's worth forgiveness." Damon smiled at her. She always had a solution. She was the voice of reason in the madness.

"What would I do without you?" He shook his head.

"I have no idea." She said dramatically and smiled back at him.

* * *

"So how will you guys make this work?" Jeremy asked his sister as they layed on the couch watching TV. "He's in Denver, you're here."

"We can visit eachother." She said dryly, trying to avoid the subject. She already worried enough herself that this would all go to hell. She didn't need her brother reminding her as well.

"But you're worried. Aren't you?" Jeremy could see right through her.

"A little. But we'll figure it out." She stated, trying to believe her own words.

"Hey guys, anything good on TV?" They heard Jenna's voice. She had returned a few days earlier from her trip with Logan. It didn't go well.

"Not really." Elena said and Jeremy nodded in agreement.

"So Elena, would you mind if I came with you in Denver next week?" That question sounded as simple as _Do you wanna go shopping with me? _, but that was aunt Jenna. So it was normal for her.

"What could you possibly go do in Denver?" Jeremy cocked an eye brow obviously surprised. He was used to her being indiscreet, but cockblocking two people that just got together and obviously needed some alone time was beyond him. _There must be something else on her mind. _He thoght.

"Spend some quality time with my niece?" She sat next to them on the couch.

"Oh just admit that you're curious about Damon." Elena saw her brother smirk with the corner of her eye and she tried to hold back her smile because they were thinking the same thing.

"Shut up Jeremy. " She playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Well maybe I'm a little a curious. I mean come on. Everyone got to see him except from me. And they also talk about how handsome he is. I need to see for myself." She admitted.

"I think that Damon won't have a problem with you staying with us." Elena lied. She knew that even though Damon would be nice to Jenna, he would also want to spend some alone time with her. She wanted that too, but she also wanted to make Jenna feel better. The previous night she had seen her in the kitchen crying and eating ice-cream, while staring in a picture of her and Logan. The least she could do to chear her up, was let her join her trip.

"Perfect. And don't worry, you'll have your privacy. I won't even stay long." She sounded excited.

"Fine. But what about your job?" Jeremy brought her back down to earth.

"I'll call them and tell them I'm sick. After all I can work from my laptop."

"It's settled then. Next week we're leaving" Elena smiled sweetly.

* * *

**6 days later.**

Damon was at his house, cleaning it up. He wanted everything to be perfect for Elena. He only had to wait one more day to see her again. The previous two weeks had been a living hell for him. He had always find himself missing her. Alaric and Rose had talked him out of going to find her at least ten times. But what could he do? He felt empty without her. He missed her laughter filling his ears like the sweetest melody he had ever heard. He missed the smell of her hair filling his lungs every night that he had held her close to him. He missed how soft her skin felt against his. He missed her in every way possible.

His phone started ringing and he picked it up with excitement expecting to hear the voice he had been craving to hear.

"Hello Damon!" He heard Miranda's voice instead.

"Hey! How are you? Is everything alright?" A grin appeared on his face. He just loved this woman.

"Everything's fine. I'm just calling to wish you good luck for tomorrow. It's a big day for you." Except from the fact that Elena would come back to him, the following day was also holding some big plans. Three days earlier Damon had searched information about his brother. His name was Stefan Salvatore. He was working for their father and he was two years younger than Damon. He also found a few pictures of Stefan. He looked a lot like their father, unlike Damon who was the male version of his mother. After doing all the background check he needed, Damon found the number of his office and called in order to arrange a meeting with him. His secretary answered and even though she tried to explain to him that his brother was extremely busy, Damon kept on pushing until she finally agreed to arrange the meeting. Their time though would be limited. Damon had half an hour to explain everything.

"Elena told you huh?" It didn't bother him though.

"Of course she did. She knows how much I care about you." He could almost see her smiling sweetly.

"Thank you for all the support, Miranda. I'm a lucky man to have you and your daughter in my life." His voice was intense. He wasn't trying to just be nice to her. He really meant every word he said.

"We're lucky to have each other then." As Miranda said that, Damon heard a knock on the door.

"Miranda, I got to go. Someone's at the door."

"I wonder who might that be." Her tone was weird, like she knew something, but he just let it go.

"We'll talk. Bye." Damon hung up and rushed to open the door. Before he could even realize what was happening, arms were wrapped around his neck and he found himself kissing the lips he had been missing for days. He didn't have the time to look at her properly, but he was so lost in the kiss that it didn't matter. She was there and he felt whole again. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor. He could feel her lips curve a smile while her mouth danced with his in a rhythm they never had before. They stopped only when their need to just be close to each other was fulfilled.

"What are you doing here?" His cheekbones were hurting from smiling so much.

"I wanted to surprise you." She said with her arms still locked around his neck and her face inches away from his.

"Mission accomplished ." He captured her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Hello cocky!" A different voice full of enthusiasm yelled.

"Please tell me this isn't Caroline's voice." Damon sighed.

"This isn't Caroline's voice." She teased him and he rolled his eyes.

"What is Caroline doing here?" He whispered.

"She's here for the same reason Jenna is here. Boy drama." She informed him and let her hands fall to his hips.

"Pff." He pouted.

"Be nice." She warned him.

"Hello Blondie! Long time no see." He greeted her and tried to smile. There was another woman standing behind Caroline. "And you must be Aunt Jenna." He took in the image of Miranda's sister. She was a beautiful woman with auburn hair that complimented her big green eyes.

"I'm surprised you remember me. You were too young when we met." Damon walked towards her and softly grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"Of course I remember you. It is nice to have you here." He smirked as he noticed her flushed cheeks.

"Well, Elena was right about you. You really are fetching. I can't believe you're the same person I once helped my sister change his diapers." She chuckled.

"That's embarrassing." He laughed. "Let me carry your bags inside."

"_And_ a gentleman." She smiled. "Thank you."

"After you." He said and let her pass the door first.

* * *

Rose and Elena were sitting at a table in Midnight Rose drinking shots.

"It was a nice surprise to come early. I thought that he would literally die if he had to wait one more day to see you." She chuckled.

"I wasn't having much fun either." She informed Damon's best friend.

"I see." She gave her an understanding smile. "It's a big day for him tomorrow." She changed the subject.

"I know. He's freaking out, but he's hiding it well." She sighed.

"Typical Damon." She had predicted that he would act cool. "It's a good thing that he has you by his side. Who knows what kind of people his brother and his father are?" She looked worried.

"We have to hope for the best. And even if he doesn't get to have his real family in his life...he still has you, Ric.."

"You." Rose smiled.

"Yeah...he has me too." She said and looked at Damon who was teaching Caroline and Jenna how to play pool. He looked so relaxed and happy. She loved seeing him like this.

"He's very lucky you walked into his life. You've changed him a lot you know...he's not drinking, he's not acting like an ass-" She stopped to think about it. "Well at least most of the time. This has never happened before."

"Not even with Katherine?" Rose froze when she heard her question. "It's okay..you don't have to answer that. It was a stupid thing to ask." She tried to avoid eye contact with Rose. She felt embarrassed.

"It's okay Elena. It wasn't a stupid thing to ask. When you're in love with someone it is only normal to feel threatened by other women. And if you want to know, Katherine made him happy, but she was also the one to encourage his bad habits. Smoking, drinking, even flirting with other people. She never made him better, she never brought him close to the real Damon, the one we all know and love. She was manipulative and selfish, but Damon was too blind to see. But thank God things didn't work out. He was wrecked in the beginning, but eventually he got over it. You don't have to be afraid of anything." The woman assured her.

"I know. I don't think that he would ever do anything to hurt me. It's just...I'm not sure if he's feelings for Katherine are completely gone. I mean he slept with her..."

"Yes he did. But he wasn't himself. He was hurt and drunk and he wanted to just let go. And if you'd seen the way he looked those days, you wouldn't blame him either." She understood Elena's reasons for being worried, but she couldn't not defend him.

"I'm not blaming him. I know that it's basically my fault..."

"Why don't you stop thinking too much and enjoy what you and Damon have? This is your time. Katherine is in the past. Let's all live in the present. Look how happy everyone is. Damon is glowing, Caroline seems to be having a great time learning pool, Alaric..." She paused for a second to take a better look at her friend who was talking with Elena's aunt. "Oh my God!"

"What happened?" Elena asked confused.

"He's flirting! Did you see the way he played with her hair? That's his move!"

"What?" Elena took a better look at them. Jenna seemed to be enjoying his company way too much. They actually looked lost in each other. Rose was definitely right.

"Let's hope his charm will work on her, because he's a pain in the ass when he gets rejected."

"Amen." Elena giggled.

* * *

Damon and Elena were on the reception room of Stefan Salvatore's office. They were sitting in a leather black couch, holding hands and waiting for the secretary to announce them when they could finally see her boss. Damon was nervous and his heart was beating faster and faster as the time passed. Elena wanted to put her arms around him and take all the worries away. She might have told him that everything would go just fine, but deep sown she knew that no one could guarantee that.

"Are you alright?" She whispered.

"I think so."

"Just relax-"

"Mr. Salvatore will see you now" The secretary's voice cut her off.

"Here we go." He said and got on his feet decisively.

He looked at the black wooden door that lead to his brother's office. Everything that he dreamed but also feared was waiting behind it.

* * *

**So that was it! I hope you liked it. Leave a review to let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Btw I changed the summary of the fanfic...I think it's better this way. Anyway, see you all on the next update in which the Salvatore brothers will finally meet. xoxoxo**


	15. Half Light

**Thank you for reading the story and following it! Your reviews are always amazing and they help me get better and better. I'm definitely not in the wirting level I was when I started. Also a HUGE THANK YOU to my AMAZING and SO SUPPORTIVE beta reader SuckerForDelena. I'd be lost without her. Anyway, let's see where the journey takes us on chapter 15! Today Damon meets Stefan for the first time. Also some other shit's gonna go down in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, while wirting it! xoxox**

* * *

"Please come in." A male's voice echoed in Elena's and Damon's ears. It sounded calm. Damon looked at Elena, she seemed to be as nervous as he was. He took a deep breath and he finally stepped in the office. "Hello. My name is Stefan Salvatore." He was in his early 20s, probably same age as Elena was. His eyes had a deep green colour and they were emitting kindness and warmth. He also had light brown hair with a hairstyle that Damon thought was funny - in a good way. He extended his hand to Damon. After starring at it for a few moments Damon finally shook it and let him do the same with Elena. "You must be Mr. Gilbert." Damon had arranged the appointment using Elena's last name.

"Yep. And this is my girlfriend Elena." He managed to finally say something.

"Pleased to meet you both." He said and went back to his desk. "How can I help?" He wanted to move straight to the point. He had far more important meetings coming and he needed to take care of this one fast.

"Well..." Damon started but his voice faded. He didn't know how to put in words what he needed to say.

"The truth is we're not here because of a book or anything." Damon heard Elena saying. _Smart move to bring her with me_, he thought.

"I don't think I understand. If you're not interested in publishing a book, then why are you here today?" Stefan looked confused. He had no time to waste on anything other than bussiness.

"Mr. Salvatore what we're here to talk to you about, is a very important matter." Elena started.

"I'm all ears then." Stefan paused, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he turned to Damon,"Mr Gilbert, care to enlighten me?" He had no choice. Since he accepted to see them, he would actually have to go through with this.

"This is about your father." Damon said and sat in a chair across his brother, because he felt like his legs were giving up on him.

"Excuse me? How do you know my father?" Stefan couldn't decide if this was a joke or not. Why on earth would two complete strangers arrange a meeting with him to talk about his father? It didn't make any sense.

"The truth is that I didn't know your father until I received this." He took a piece of paper out of his jacket's pocket.

"What is this? I don't understand." He was trying to be as polite as he could in order to cover his annoyance.

"This is a letter that my mother wrote me a few months before she died." He paused. His blue eyes were locked with his green ones. Stefan now looked more confused than ever, but Damon tried to ignore it.

"I still don't understand. Please speak clearly." He was now losing his patience.

"Mr. Salvatore. Care to hear a story?" Stefan nodded still trying to figure out what was going on there. "When my mother was still a teenager, her father was working for a very rich family. He was taking care of their garden. The owner of the house had a son in her age. When he and my mother met, they fell in love. It didn't take long for them to get pregnant. They were scared that they boy's rich family wouldn't accept my mother, but they had no choice. They had to tell them. In their surprise his parents welcomed her in their family. A day later the father sent the boy away in a bussiness trip. And that was when the mother got the chance to threaten my mother and make her leave. She left and gave birth to me. The boy never looked for her, never came after her. That boy was my father and I didn't know who it was till I read that letter, in which my mother narrates the story herself." Stefan didn't know how did any of this had to do with him and why the hell they were wasting his precious time. Was all this an idea for some book that the guy wanted to write? But then again, they said that they weren't there to talk about bussiness.

"I'm sorry Mr. Gilbert. But I still don't get it. Why are you here today? Why are you telling me these things?" The confused look on Stefan's face was the exact same expression that Damon had every time he couldn't understand something. That made Elena think that even though they didn't look much alike, there was something about them. A connection. A blood bond that after all was stronger than anything else.

"Because my name isn't Damon Gilbert. It actually is, Damon Salvatore." Stefan froze. His eyes got wider and his heart started beating faster in his chest. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't possible. The boy in the story was _his father_? His father never mentioned anything. He wasn't the type of man who would leave a girl pregnant and then never look for her. He knew his father. He was honourable and kind and he always admired him. This had to be a crazy story that came out of this guy's mind. Yeah, he probably just wanted money and came up with this story in order to get them. Damon couldn't really be his brother, he didn't _have_ a brother.

"You honestly expect me to believe everything you just said." Stefan chuckled hysterically.

"He's telling the truth!" Elena defended Damon before she had time to think. "His father is Giuseppe Salvatore! Why would he lie about something like that?"

"I don't know...to get to my wallet perhaps?" It was the only logical explanation that he could come up with, because having a brother was simply not possible. Wasn't it?

"FUCK YOUR MONEY!" Damon yelled and hit his fist on the desk, something that made Stefan bounce on his seat.

"Damon! Please calm down!" Elena shouted.

"Mr. Salvatore is everything alright?" Stefan's secretary came in. She was clearly worried about her boss.

"Yes Phoebe. Please get back to what you were doing." He said trying to look calm. On the inside though, he was a mess thanks to the overdrive of his brain.

"Yes sir." She said and left.

"You need to keep it down! There are people working here!" Stefan said coldly right after Phoebe left.

"Damon, he's right. Calm down." Elena said softly. Her voice was the only thing making him relax a little bit.

"So talking loud offends you, but when you say that I'm here to take your money shouldn't be offending me?" He paused. "Listen. I don't give a flying fuck about your money. I'm only here to get answers. I would've gone straight to your father, but I didn't want to upset him. That's why I'm here today. Because I wanted your help. But if you think I'm a thief and a liar, then we have nothing to talk about. In fact I never want to see your face again. Thank you for your time...and thank you for reminding me that I don't have a family. It makes me appreciate the people that were there for me all these years even more." He said and got up. "Let's go Elena." He said and left the office before she could even realize what was happening.

"If you're so sure he's lying, why aren't you doing a little test? Ask your father if he knows Sarah Miller. See how how he reacts." Elena said. "This is Damon's phone number and his address." She said while writing them down on a piece of paper that she found on his desk. "If you open your eyes and finally see the truth, come to find him." She said and left the office as well without even looking at him.

Stefan fell back on his chair closed his eyes for a bit while taking deep breaths in order to calm down. _This couldn't be happening_. Even though his logic was screaming to not trust this man's words, there was part of him that couldn't help but think that he seemed to be telling the truth. He was looking straight into his eyes and even though Stefan hated to admit it, he looked honourable. What was he supposed to do? Trust his brains or his instinct to believe the man? _Who am I kidding? I won't stop thinking about it until I test my father._

"Phoebe." He called his secretary.

"Yes sir." She was standing in front of him in seconds.

"Please cancel the rest of my meetings. I'm in no condition to work right now."

"Sir, is everything alright? This man looked crazy!" She said in a high voice.

"I'm alright. I just need to get out of here." He said and put on his coat. "If my father calls, please don't mention anything about this meeting. Tell him that I wasn't feeling well and I had to leave early."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you!" He gave her a polite smile that didn't reach his eyes and left.

* * *

Damon walked into the house with a pace with which Elena couldn't keep up. He went straight to the cupboards where he kept his alcohol and the next moment he was pouring bourbon in a glass. Elena walked in the house a minute later and closed the door behind her.

"You know that this won't solve anything, right?" She said as calm as she could.

"And what will Elena? Spending hours talking about how I feel that my brother thinks that I'm someone who wants his money and won't even listen to what I'm saying? I'm sorry but that is _your_ thing. Not mine." This came out like an insult and his words cut her like knives as they left his mouth.

"And what's _your_ thing Damon? Pretending like you don't care? Like you're not hurt? Like everything's gonna be fine right after this bottle you're holding is empty?" She yelled back, furious with his behaviour. "Is this how you solve _your_ problems?"

"Yes Elena. That's _exactly_ how I solve _my_ problems and I don't care if you like it or not, because in the end of the day I'm the one who has to live with them! Not you. Not Rose. Not Ric. _Me_." Damon knew that Caroline was probably home and she could hear everything that they were saying, but he didn't care at this point. He was disappointed and hurt. A combination that always lead to a lash out when it came down to him.

"_How dare you_ say that? We're all in this together! Do you think we like seeing you like this?" Elena was getting angrier and angrier. All she tried to do was help him. She wanted to be there for him. If only he wasn't such an idiot, she would be holding him in her arms...they wouldn't even have to talk about it if he didn't want to. But she knew that at this point Damon wasn't even listening to her, she knew that he couldn't think straight.

"Aren't you listening? I don't care what you like and what you don't. _That's_ the attitude I'm wearing right now. Accept it." He said without even blinking.

"Then there's nothing left to talk about here. You clearly want to be left alone." Elena pursed her lips together and looked away from his cold gaze as tears started appearing in her eyes. His face softened a little at the sight.

"Guys..." They heard Caroline's uncertain voice and they both fixed their eyes on her. Elena hated the fact that Caroline had just seen her like this.

"Everything's fine." Elena said with her voice almost breaking.

"I guess it didn't go well, huh?" The blond girl had a sympathetic look on her face.

"Okay, I need to go." Damon said and finished his drink in one shot.

Before Elena and Caroline could react, he walked out of the house and left them there speechless.

"What was that about?" Elena's friend asked clearly confused.

"It wasn't about you. It was about me." Her voice finally broke in her last word and this time she wasn't able to hold back the tears that had been building in her eyes.

"Hey." She said and reached for her friend. "Elena! Look at me!" Elena looked into her friend's blue eyes. "This wasn't your fault. You did everything you could to help him. Just let him be. He's not himself. Now can you please explain to me what exactly happened?"

The two girls sat on the couch in order for Elena to calm down a bit and Caroline offered her a drink.

"His brother thinks that he's lying. He thinks that this is just a story that came out of Damon's mind just to get in his pocket." Elena explained.

"To be honest Elena...if I was that rich..I might have thought the same if someone walked into my office and told me that they're my lost sibling."

"I know. But you can't just accuse someone like that."

"Did Damon try to change his mind?"

"No. He got upset and left." She said recalling the way Damon hit Stefan's desk and the shock on Stefan's face.

"They're both stubborn." Caroline said. "There must be something wrong with the Salvatore genes." She chuckled awkwardly trying to light up the mood.

"Definitely!" Elena agreed.

"So..where do you think Damon went now?"

"I've no idea. And I don't care at this point." She said coldly. But the truth was that she couldn't stop worrying about him.

"You're just mad at him right now." She just knew her friend too well.

"At least I have reasons to be mad at him. He, on the other hand, doesn't."

"He's not mad at _you_. He just doesn't know how to express his sadness."

"I'm not a punching bag Caroline. This is not the first time he's doing something like that."

"Yeah, you're right." She didn't wanna sound like she was defending him. But there was a part of her that just knew where he was coming from. She had to deal with lot of family drama over the years as well.

"I'm sorry for having to deal with this drama."

"Don't be silly. I'm your best friend. Your drama, is _my_ drama." Elena smiled warmly at her best friend. She didn't know how to thank her for being always there for her.

"Anyway, where's Jenna?" Elena asked trying to change the subject.

"Alaric called and asked her if she wanted to go to Midnight Rose and have a drink with him."

"So Rose was right." A smirk played on Elena's lips.

"About what?"

"They're flirting."

"Oh yeah! Totally. And he seems like a nice guy."

"At least something's _not_ going wrong."

"Everything will go better with time. I mean what could happen?"

"Okay now I'm totally waiting for the end of the world to come. Did you really have to ask that?"

"Oh stop moaning and start thinking positive!"

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed and her thoughts went back to Damon.

"And stop worrying about him. He's not a kid. He knows how to take care of himself."

"I know. I just don't know what's the right thing to say to him right now..."

"You don't have to say anything. Just be there. Listen to what _he_ has to say...I don't think he needs anything more than that right now."

"What would I do without you?"

"Sweetie, you'd be lost!" Caroline giggled and hugged her friend.

* * *

Stefan walked into the boarding house. This place held so many memories. He grew up there. He could still remember running around in the huge hallways as a kid, messing with the housekeepers and playing hide and seek with his mother. The house changed a lot though in the last year. It used to be filled with flowers and the sun used to shine bright through the windows. Happy voices and laughters were always filling the ears of the ones who had the chance to walk by or come for a visit. Now there wasn't even a trace of flowers and the light was blocked by heavy velvety curtains. But the worst part was the silence. It was a reminder that he'd never hear his mother's voice ever again. For once he was glad that he lived on his own now. He pushed these thoughts away and made his way to his father's study. He stood outside the door, unable to decide if he was ready or not to put him through this test. He just kept on looking forward. His hands weren't moving to knock.

"Stefan!" The voice made him turn and jump back, which caused him to hit his head on his father's door.

"What the hell, Caitlyn?" He yelled at his sister obviously annoyed, but the truth is he was happy to see her. It had been a while since the last time they got to talk.

"Look who's in a bad mood!" She said casually.

"Shut up." He loved his sister. But she knew how to press his buttons.

"Okay. I guess you're not into the talking mood." The blonde girl said. "So I'm gonna leave you stare at the door...maybe you could have a conversation with it instead."

"What's going on?" His father asked as he rushed out of his study. "I'm trying to work!"

"It's nothing father. I'm sorry." Stefan said quickly.

"Stefan! What are you doing here, son? I thought you were at the office."

"You know what? If I had your job, I'd probably prefer to waste my time talking to doors too." Caytlin chuckled and Stefan shrugged but couldn't hide that he found his sister's joke amusing. Last year Caytlin decided to spend one day with him at the office. In the beginning she seemed to be fine, but after two hours of work she found it extremely boring and left. Stefan wasn't disappointed. He knew his sister so he really saw that coming.

"Caitlyn, I hope you finished your homework." Giuseppe said ignoring her comment.

"Yes, I have finished my homework. Why is this the only thing you're asking me every single day?" She said obviously annoyed. Caitlyn always had excellent grades in school and was always one step ahead of her classmates. She was also very curious about everything. She spent her free time reading books and studying. Learning new things was her drug.

"Because I want to know." He sighed.

"Well, now, you know." She said coldly and ran upstairs.

"What was that about?" Stefan asked in complete confusion.

"She's a little aggressive lately." He said as if it was nothing.

"In 4 days...it will be 1 year since we..." He didn't finish his sentence but his father knew exactly what he wanted to say. "Maybe that's why."

"I know Stefan.." Sadness passed through Giuseppe's eyes for a split second, but then he cleared his throat. "So you wanted to see me?"

"Nothing important. I just wanted to see how you're doing." Stefan lied. The only reason he was there was because a man he had never seen in his life before walked into his office and tried to convince him that he was his lost brother. But Stefan couldn't just say that to his father.

"I'm fine. Too much work though. I hope I could spend more time with you and your sister." There was something different about his father. Every day that passed it seemed like he became more and more distant from him and Caytlin. Every time he talked to them there was awkwardness, like he didn't know what to say. Like he was nervous. It was sad to see him like that. Stefan knew he was having a hard time accepting that he had lost his wife.

"Maybe we could arrange a family dinner sometime next week. I think that Caitlyn would love that." Stefan smiled politely.

"I can't promise anything son. But I'll try to make it happen." Giuseppe tried tried to smile back.

"Actually, you know what? I might not be able to attend the dinner either. You see I have to arrange a dinner with this very important client we have..."

"What client? Maybe I know them." He asked with excitement. He felt so proud of Stefan. He seemed to be handling things well in his job.

"I'm not sure if I remember her name correctly...I think it's Sarah Miller?" Giuseppe's face got pale and his eyes got wide open. He hadn't heard this name for years. How does he know that name? His heart started pounding in his chest. He thought he'd never hear from her again. _It's just a synonymity. It's just a synonymity. It has to be._

"Father...are you alright?" Stefan was worried now. He almost gave his father a heart attack just by saying this woman's name. As much as he hated to admit it, he really got a reaction out of him, which could only mean one thing...the guy that came to talk to him wasn't lying.

"I-I'm fine. I need to get back to work." And without saying anything else he hurried back to his study. He was walking like he was lost in his own house. When he got in, he forced a smile on his face just for Stefan to think everything was fine and then he shut the door.

What the hell was that? Stefan knew what he should do now and he didn't like it at all.

* * *

She felt a hand poking her gently at her shoulder. She opened her eyes and took in the image in front of her. The most beautiful pair of blue eyes that she had ever seen were locked with her chocolate brown ones.

"Hey." He said softly. "Why are you sleeping at the couch?" Her eyes were swollen and he realized she probably had been crying. He felt the guilt piercing his heart.

"I was waiting for you and I fell asleep." She said and grabbed his hand in hers.

"**I'm sorry**," They both said at the same time.

"No no no. _I'm sorry_. You've been here for me through all of this shit even though you didn't have to and I acted like an ass like I always do." He said looking deeply into her eyes and stroking her knuckles.

"You don't have to apologize. I should have been more understanding and not yell at you. I should have just held you and not judge the way you decided to react." She said with a voice like silk. "And don't you ever thank me again. I didn't do anything."

"Oh you did! You did more than you can imagine. Just by standing next to me...you were my strength when I walked in that office Elena. I wouldn't have done it without you." He brought her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss there. "And even right now. After having one of the biggest disappointments of my life, you still make everything better just by being here. Because when I look at you I know that everything going to be okay. So thank you." He was looking at her with complete devotion and admiration. Elena couldn't help but give him a sweet smile before she leaned in and kissed him softly. "Please don't ever walk away from me."

"I'll tell you a secret." She whispered in his ear. "I don't want to ever walk away from you either." She pulled back just to smile at him before their lips met again. This time she could feel him smiling. This kiss wasn't quite like their usual passionate ones. It was soft and slow. It was full of understanding and emotion.

"Let's go get some sleep." He said when they stopped kissing. Before Elena could stand up, he lifted her in his arms along with the blanket she was covered with.

"You're spoiling me." She chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Just for tonight." He said and started walking them to his bedroom.

He placed her on his bed and stripped down to his boxers. Elena couldn't help but admire his body. Even now, that she had basically kissed every square inch of it, she still was surprised by its perfection every time she got the chance to see it. Damon smirked as he knew what she was thinking and made his way to his side of the bed. He crawled closer to her under the blankets and pulled her against him so that her back was connected with his chest. Her scent was intoxicating and it automatically made him relax. If every crappy day had this kind of an ending, than he wasn't afraid of the ones there were to come. As long as he held her in his arms, he could face anything.

"Goodnight." He whispered to her.

"Goodnight." She whispered back.

And they both surrendered into a peaceful sleep, without worrying about anything anymore.

* * *

Stefan was in his car, with his phone on his ear, waiting for the only person who could shed some light in this situation to pick it up.

"Hello." He heard the man who had helped him thousands of times in the past.

"Hey, Leonard."

"Long time, no see. I suppose you're not calling to chat." The man chuckled.

"I have a job for you." Stefan went straight to the point.

"What kind of job?"

"I need you to find information about someone."

"Just give me the name and you have it."

"Sarah Miller."

"Consider it done."

"The faster you find the information, the more generous your payment will be." Stefan said before he hung up.

He had thought this through. There was no other option. He couldn't ignore the way his father reacted when he heard this woman's name, but he also couldn't just believe everything a stranger was saying. He needed to do his own research and then decide what he should believe. He hoped that Leonard would be as fast as possible with this, because waiting was a torture. He didn't know what to expect, but he knew that big changed were about to come in his life.

* * *

**So that was it! I hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it. I wanna hear your thoughts on Stefan,Guiseppe and Caytlin, as they are the characters that were introduced for the first time in this chapter. How did you like the Salvatore brother's first meeting? I hope they were in character and it wasn't too awkward. Anyway, I can't wait to read your reviews! If you have any questions about the characters or the plot you can find me on Twitter ~~ shelovesdamon. xoxoxo**


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